Rapture like Blood
by Noizchild Johnson
Summary: Eighth one in my series, "Ghost Doll." Three cases in one: missing and moving corpses, Hotaru's friend, and more with the Eda-Kimoto clan.
1. Cracks

Rapture like Blood

_Chapter One: Cracks:_

_November 1st, 2009._

This new mess started when Watari spotted the change. He was looking over Anna's chart when he noticed something.

"Huh?" he asked. "That can't be right." The scientist examined the chart closer.

"No way…" he mumbled. The man quickly got on the phone.

"Tsuzuki, get here now!" he said. "You have to see this."

His pal arrived in a short time. "What is it?" Tsuzuki asked. Watari moved the mouse. Anna's chart popped up on the screen. He clicked on the left one.

"This is Daisuke's shield back in March," he said. "Nice and normal, right?" Tsuzuki looked on.

"Okay, so?" he asked.

"Look at this," Watari said. He clicked on the chart on the right. The chart was taken the day before Anna was discharged from the hospital. The shield looked rather pale in comparison, more breakable to be frank. The cracks had increased in number. Tsuzuki quickly caught on.

"The shield looks faint," he said.

"Exactly!" Watari said. His friend turned to him.

"Why is that?" he asked. Watari gave him a grave look.

"The shield is breaking down," he said. Tsuzuki looked at him.

"And?"

"Her kitsune is escaping from the shield to merge with Anna."

Tsuzuki looked shocked. "What? Why?"

Watari patted him on the shoulder. "She was near death last Saturday."

Tsuzuki looked puzzled. "How?"

Watari pulled up the screen. "Every time she comes near death, Daisuke's shield crumbles."

Tsuzuki's mind filled with worry. "So? How long before the kitsune breaks down?"

Watari shook his head. "Can't really say."

"What should I do?" the oldest shinigami asked.

"Keep watch and try to keep her under control," his friend answered. Both men watched the chart on the screen.

"How?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Any way possible…" Watari replied. Here crawled in the descent.


	2. Demented Innocence

_Chapter Two: Demented Innocence:_

Saito had changed lately. Hotaru noticed something wrong on the first of November as he kept shaking.

"Saito, is something wrong?" she asked. She reached out to touch his hand, but he smacked her away.

"Ow!" she cried.

"Don't touch me!" he shouted. Hotaru drew back startled, rubbing her hand.

"Saito?" she asked. The young man caught his breath as he calmed down.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. Hotaru put out her hand to rub his back, but he shoved her away.

"Saito?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face. The loli demon looked and saw her friend crying. Saito lifted his head with tears in his eyes.

"I don't know what's wrong with me!" he wailed. He leaned against her chest. "Help me!" Saito murmured. "Please help!"

Hotaru blinked. "Okay…how?"

Saito grabbed onto her dress. "Don't leave me!" Hotaru's mind went into a confusing place as her eyes trailed to the sky. _Oh boy, now what do I do?_

Downtown, an elderly man came home from picking up his pension when something caught his eye. One red shoe on a tiny foot stuck out in the bushes. The old man blinked for he believed himself to be seeing things.

"What is that?" he asked himself. Curious, the man walked over for a closer look. The foot came attached to a leg covered in white stockings. A little gold anklet grabbed onto the ankle. The old man straightened his glasses for a better look.

"Hello?" he asked. "Hello, miss? Are you okay?" The old man moved closer when he received no answer. _Maybe she's asleep_, he thought. "Hello?" he asked. "Hello, miss? Are you okay?" He suddenly noticed tiny drops of blood on the leg.

"Miss?" he asked. "Are you hurt?" His eyes trailed upwards only to see an unthinkable. The woman's chest had been ripped open. Blood covered the face and cavity. The ants crawled all over the body. The old man's money fell straight to the ground. A choking scream filled the air.

Saito turned to Hotaru. "I did something bad!" he wailed.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"I killed somebody!" he confessed. Hotaru's facial expression changed into a startled one.

"What did you say?" she asked. Saito trembled all over.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!" he wailed. "I'm so sorry!" He broke down crying while Hotaru patted him on the shoulder.

"There, there," she whispered. "It'll be okay."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, mother," he kept whispering in his hands and lap. His sobbing grew worse.

"Shhh," Hotaru whispered. "It's okay. It'll be okay." A small frown came crept onto her face. _Is it really?_ His confession only strengthened up her doubt about him within her. However, she couldn't leave him. _He needs me right now_, Hotaru thought. _So, I have to stay with him!_


	3. Forbidden Taste

_Chapter Three: Forbidden Taste:_

Anna had to know about her current condition. Tsuzuki found his way back to Kimoto Manor that evening. He took in a breath and knocked on the door. The man blinked when Jules greeted him.

"Uh… is Anna in?" he asked.

"Who's asking?" the girl asked.

"I'm her boyfriend," Tsuzuki replied. The girl said nothing at first.

"She's in her room," Jules said.

"Okay…" Tsuzuki mumbled. Jules sneered as he stared at her.

"What?" she asked. The shinigami shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing," he lied. The man hurried down the hall. When he came to Anna's room, Tsuzuki knocked on the door.

"It's open," his woman said. Tsuzuki slid open the door and went inside. He found Anna sitting on her bed. She smiled in the darkness.

"Hey there," she said. Tsuzuki closed the door behind him.

"Who was that at the door?" he asked.

"Seita's school friend," she said. "She came over for dinner." Tsuzuki gave her a puzzled look on his face.

"Why is she still here?" he asked.

"Dunno," Anna replied, shaking her head as she shrugged.

"I see," the shinigami replied with suspicion in his tone.

"Don't worry about it," Anna said, waving him off. "Anything else?" Tsuzuki thought about her question.

"Oh, yes, is your laptop on?" he asked.

Anna raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

"I need to show you something." Tsuzuki walked over to her laptop and moved the mouse.

"Hang on, let me log in," Anna said. She crawled off her futon and went to her desk. Once logged in, Tsuzuki plugged in the flash drive. He pulled up the charts.

"This is Daisuke-san's shield back in March," he said.

"Okay," Anna replied. Tsuzuki pulled up the second chart.

"Alright… what?" Anna asked, squinting her eyes. Tsuzuki turned to her.

"The shield is breaking down," he summed up. The woman looked confused.

"How? Why?" she asked.

"When you almost died," he said.

"Like when I was flogged?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

Anna nodded slowly. "I see." She sat down on her futon. Tsuzuki looked at her.

"You alright?" he asked. She didn't speak as she got lost in her thoughts.

The shinigami became puzzled. "Anna? Are you okay?"

"This is my chance…"

"Your what?"

Her eyes moved towards him in the dark. "I have a chance to fight back now."

"What?" Tsuzuki began to get her drift. He shook his head. "No! No, no!"

Anna gave him an innocent look. "What, Asato-kun?"

He crawled over to her. "Don't do it!"

"Do what?" She pulled him in for a kiss.

Tsuzuki tried to resist her. "What I think you'll do."

Anna giggled. "What do you think I'll do?" She kissed him again on the lips, but Tsuzuki pushed her off.

"I'm serious!" he protested.

Anna put her arms around his neck. "Don't worry, I won't be like them."

"You don't know that," Tsuzuki told her.

She gave him another kiss. "Don't you trust me?"

"Well yes, but…" the shinigami whispered.

She kissed him on the tip of his nose. "Okay then, there is nothing to worry about. I will be fine."

"But why do you want to free your kitsune so badly, huh?" He kissed her on the lips as he asked her.

"Mmm, because, I want to defend myself. I don't want to be deadweight to you guys."

"Aww, you're not deadweight," Tsuzuki cooed.

"But I don't want to be," Anna told him.

"There are other ways to defend yourself," Tsuzuki said, running his fingers through her hair. Anna raised an eyebrow at him.

"How?" she asked.

He played with her hair as he kissed her again. "You'll find something. You're a smart woman."

"Mmm," she murmured. They shared another kiss.

"Just…" he said at her lips.

"Just what?" his girlfriend asked.

Tsuzuki gently nuzzled Anna's ear. "Be careful with whatever you choose. Don't lose yourself. We still have to get married."

Anna gave him a little smile. "Of course, I know we do. I'm not going to stand you up." She kissed him on the lips again. He chuckled at her.

"I will hold you to that promise," the shinigami said.

"Do as you will," his beloved playfully challenged him. The kissing increased as she pushed him back on her futon. He even stuck in some groping. She's still going to break the shield. He knows that he can't stop her, but at least he can distract his lady love for the time being. After that, as far as he knew, he better get ready for an uphill tango.


	4. She Knows it's Hard

_Chapter Four: She Knows it's Hard:_

Hotaru had a problem: Saito might be a murderer, but she had no proof, just a broken-down confession. Sure, that was useful, but she still had doubts. Actually, the loli demon didn't know what to believe. Thing was, Hotaru didn't know where to start.

The loli demon thought about her situation when she heard shouting down the street. Curious, she decided to take a look. Stella stood outside an ATM, screaming.

"How the fuck did I lose that much money?" she screamed. "That bastard!" She looked up and saw Hotaru.

"What?!" the wolf demon snapped. Hotaru shrugged.

"I'm looking for a friend," she said. Stella looked at her.

"That right?" she asked.

"Yeah," the loli demon replied. "I might need some help."

"And you're asking me?" Stella asked, narrowing her eyes at her.

"Yeah…" Hotaru replied, biting her lower lip.

Stella shrugged. "Whatever, does this friend have an address?"

"Here," Hotaru said as she reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. Stella read it over.

"Happy Puppy Apartments, huh?" she asked.

"Yes, he told me on the third day we met," Hotaru said.

"Okay, let's go," Stella said. Both women headed off into the early morning darkness.

"I'm Hotaru, by the way," the loli demon said on the way. "What's your name?"

"Stella Craig, I'm a friend of Lucy's," the wolf demon replied.

"I see," Hotaru replied. "Hey, why were you shouting at the ATM earlier?" Stella clenched her teeth, but tried to keep herself calm.

"Oh, my ex ripped me off again," she said with a matching tone. "Don't want to talk about it."

"Ah," the loli demon said, nodding.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Stella grumbled.

"Fine, fine," Hotaru said, putting up her hands. "We don't even have to talk until we get to the apartment." Stella took a deep breath.

"Thank you," she muttered.

The apartment looked abandoned, nothing, broken-down nothing. The grass didn't really exist. The ground consisted of dried mud. The demolition sign in the lot had almost fallen off. Hotaru and Stella had flat looks on their faces.

"Wrong address?" Hotaru wondered.

"Want to check?" Stella asked. The loli demon shrugged. The women knocked on the door. Hotaru leapt back as it nearly fell off the hinges.

"Hello?" Stella called inside. "Anyone here?" The ladies slowly took a few steps in.

"Hello? We're here for a couple of questions about one of your tenants," Hotaru said.

"Shhh!" Stella whispered as she paused. "I hear something." Hotaru looked at her.

"Where?" she whispered. Stella took little steps to her right and reached out her arm. Her hand touched glass.

"Here!" she said.

"Huh?" Hotaru asked. "How do you know?" Stella turned to her with a grin.

"I hear things others can't," she bragged. The loli demon didn't get what she was saying at first.

"How?" she asked. Stella gave her a huge grin.

"I'm a wolf demon," she said.

Hotaru blinked. "You're joking, right?" When Stella said nothing, the loli demon looked at her with big eyes.

"Holy crap! You really are!" she said.

"Yeah, but that's not the point," Stella said. "Look." Hotaru glanced through the glass. An old man sat on the other side with a glazed face. Hotaru leapt backwards.

"Oh shit, he's dead!" she cried.

"No, no," Stella said. "He's just asleep. I heard him gurgling softly. See? Look." The wolf demon gave the thin plexiglass a hard tap. The old man inside leapt awake. He saw the women and slid the glass open.

"Yes? How can I help you?" he asked. Hotaru stepped forward.

"Excuse me sir," she said. "I'm looking for my friend, Tajizawa Saito. He gave me the address to this place, but not the apartment number. Do you know where I can find him and his mother?" The old man gave her an odd look.

"I'm sorry, who did you say?" he asked.

"Tajizawa Saito," Hotaru repeated. "Do you know him?" The old man straightened up his glasses.

"Yeah, I _did_ know someone by that name," he said. Stella gave him a puzzled look.

"Did?" she asked. "What do you mean _did_?"

"Tajizawa Saito did live here with his mother in apartment 103," the old owner said.

"What happened to them?" Hotaru asked. The owner's face became serious.

"Ten years ago, Saito walked in on his mother and her lover in her bed," he explained. "That quiet young man snapped and stabbed them both to death. Three days later, he jumped to his death from the apartment roof."

By sunrise, the latest body count had risen to eight in the past two months.


	5. Confirmation

_Chapter Five: Confirmation:_

By sunrise, Hotaru knocked on Emiko's office door.

"Enter!" her girlfriend called. Hotaru hesitated, but took baby steps inside.

"Uh…" she mumbled. The butch demon sat at her laptop, typing. Her glasses told Hotaru not to distract her. So, she had to make this quick.

"What do you want?" Emiko asked. "I'm busy!" Hotaru stood up straight.

"I need you to look up something!" she said in one breath. Emiko looked up at her.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"Please look up something for me," her girlfriend repeated.

"What?" the butch demon asked. Hotaru gave her a puzzled look.

"Huh?" she asked.

"What do you want to me to look up?" Emiko asked. "Come on, I don't have all night."

"Tajizawa Saito and Happy Puppy Apartments," her girlfriend answered in one breath. She shuffled her feet as she tensely waited. Emiko didn't blink.

"Alright," she said. Hotaru lightly breathed as her girlfriend got to typing.

"Well?" she asked. Emiko didn't look up from her screen.

"There are many articles about his mother's murder," she replied. Hotaru rushed over to the computer. Articles about the murder popped up on the screen. Her face dropped. _So it is true… _

Emiko looked up at her. "Anything in particular?" she asked. Hotaru scanned the screen. One title caught her eye.

"Click on that one there," she said. Emiko looked at the title in question.

"Apartment under investigation for murder-suicide," she read. "That one?"

"Uh-huh," Hotaru replied. Emiko had her own questions, but instead shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright," she said. She clicked on the link. The article popped up and the demons read over it together. Hotaru's stomach dropped at the words.

"Man commits suicide after his mother and mother's lover's murders," she murmured. The loli demon shook her head. _No! I don't want to believe any of this!_ Hotaru bit her lower lip. Emiko turned to her.

"Anything else?" she asked. Hotaru lowered her eyes.

"I love you," she said softly before walking away. Emiko gave her an odd look. _What was that all about?_

In Ju-Oh-Cho, a new case for the Tokyo Division got under way.


	6. Tokyo Case Review

_Chapter Six: Tokyo Case Review:_

-Morning in Ju-Oh-Cho-

The Tokyo shinigami had a new case on their hands. They began the overview of the case.

In 1964, a woman and her young son moved into Happy Puppy Apartments. She had just come out of a nasty divorce and hated men as a result. She drove those beliefs deep into her son. However, a curious thing happened. It's not clear about Saito's childhood and adolescence, but it is suspected that Tajizawa-san displayed a Jocasta type of behavior towards her son. This is only speculation.

Next page

Not much is known about the years between 1964 and 1997. The neighbors couldn't tell the police much about the family back in '97. They barely left the apartment. No one knew of the father or any other friends outside of Happy Puppy Apartments. The family didn't even leave a phone number with the manager while they were living in apartment number 103. Not much mail came to that address either. Tajizawa-san took up many odd jobs to make ends meet. Her co-workers didn't have much to give to the police at the time of the investigation either. The woman's bosses described her as quiet and a good worker even though she didn't stay at one job very long. Her son didn't interact with the other kids in the apartment. His mother even home-schooled him on the days when she didn't have to work.

In 1997, Tajizawa-san met a man at the grocery store where she worked and a fling ensued. There is not much known about the boyfriend either. Tajizawa-san didn't talk much about him just like she did with everything else. She wouldn't even give them his first name, but yet her co-workers saw that she clearly loved this man. The relationship developed pretty quickly within a span of three weeks. She even wanted to move the man into the apartment that she lived in. This created tension between mother and son as Saito came to hate the boyfriend. One July night, Saito came home and found his mother in bed with the boyfriend. The thirty-seven-year-old snapped and stabbed them both to death on the spot.

Next page

Nobody knew what happened for the next three days. Saito wouldn't even answer the door. Afterwards, Saito went to the roof and jumped to his death. His body was found in the back alley after the janitor was cleaning up the street around the apartment for the morning. The police found the bodies of his mother and her boyfriend later that evening. The crime scene looked like no other that they had ever seen at that time. Dried blood splattered the walls, sheets, furniture, and ceiling. The darkness of the room and freezing air from the AC running in the apartment kept the bodies from decaying right away even though there was a power outage late one muggy night. Many of the officers working on the case had to have months of therapy after what they had witnessed with that gruesome scene. All of the evidence from the knife and fingerprints in the bedroom came back to Saito. In the end, the cops ruled the case as a double-murder suicide. After that, most of the residents left Happy Puppy Apartments.

Next page

Three months ago, mysterious deaths began occurring near Happy Puppy Apartments. Eight victims have been found so far. Each one has been characterized as a young, single woman in their late twenties to early thirties that worked at the supermarket that Tajizawa-san used to work at before she died. It is a hunch that the victims all resemble Saito's mother in '64. So far, not much is known about these women at the time.

The Ju-Oh-Cho is still trying to work on IDs for each one. Other than their place of work, the eight women don't have much in common. All of them have had their chests ripped right open. The bodies are always dumped around the Happy Puppy Property. There has been only one survivor in this case. She claimed the culprit was an old lady with claws. The suspect tracked the would-be victim down in the parking lot of the supermarket where she worked and tried to attack her before she got into her car. The only reason she escaped being the ninth victim was because the manager of the supermarket was chasing down some teenage shoplifters into the parking lot. Not many other clues have been left behind.

End of Case Review

Konoe turned to the Tokyo shinigami. "That old lady sounds like a demon escaped from Hell," he said. "Capture and judge her."

"Yes sir!" the shinigami replied. They disappeared to act on their order.

Early on that same morning, Hotaru came out to the park with a huge bag of Kompeito in her hand.


	7. There's a Ghost in Me

_Chapter Seven: There's a Ghost in Me:_

_July 6th, 1997_

His hands trembled. Their blood splattered all the way to the ceiling. The streets stained a dull red. Despite the mess, they looked like they were sleeping. He trembled when he saw them again.

Three days ago, his mind gave into built-up rage and two people died as a result, one of whom he loved since birth. His senses returned seconds after the crime.

"What have I done?" he asked when he saw all of that red. "Oh my god! What have I done?!" He sank to his knees and wept for three days. On the third day, he heard a voice calling out to him.

"Mother?" he whispered. He lifted his head and looked around. They were still dead. No one else was in the apartment, but yet, that voice kept calling to him.

"Mother?" he asked again. "Is that you, mother?" He rose to his feet. "Mother?" he asked. "Mother? I'm coming, Mother!"

He raced out of her room, down the hall, out the front door, down the hall, up the stairs, and to the roof. The sun hadn't come up yet. He looked below at the ant-like city feeling numb, numb like the past three days. She called out to him.

"I'm coming, Mother!" he cried. The janitor found his body at sunrise.

_November 1st, 2009_

Hotaru patted him on the back. "There, there, it'll be okay." Saito still cried in her lap. The loli demon then came up with an idea.

"Hey," she whispered. "You know what cheers me up? A nice bag of Kompeito. I'll bring us a nice big bag of Kompeito and we can talk in the morning, right?" He looked up from her lap saying nothing initially, but Saito nodded.

"Okay," he whimpered. Hotaru gave him a little smile.

"There you go," she whispered. "Everything will be alright."

_November 2nd, 2009_

_3:00 a.m._

Hotaru looked around the park. _Still early_, she thought. The loli demon sat down on the bench and waited.

_7:00 a.m._

The shinigami waited at Happy Puppy Apartments. The older man turned to his partner.

"Sense her yet?" he asked. The younger one shook his head.

"Not yet," he said. They resumed their surveillance. By 7:30, the shinigami sat up straight. The rookie glanced at his partner.

"Felt that?" he whispered.

"Yeah!" the older one replied. "It's coming out!" The shinigami kept close watch as a figure left the apartment. This person stood there as if debating going out into the sun or not. The rookie gave it a puzzled look.

"Hey, is that a man or a woman?" he asked. His partner squinted his eyes for a better look and became confused.

"I'm not sure…" he whispered. Suddenly, the figure looked up and saw them. She hissed, drew out her claws, and sailed forward to attack. The shinigami managed to dodge her in time. That's when they saw the truth.

In the park, Hotaru stretched out her legs and waited. Life had started to unfold around her. People walked their dogs. Joggers took route. Birds began their flight south. Hotaru looked around again. _Maybe he's late?_

The old lady turned out to be a man; more specifically, turned out to be Saito dressed up like his dead mother. The shinigami tried to grasp this turn of events. Saito turned with his claws out.

"It's a guy!" the rookie yelled. "Now what?"

"Just take him!" the older partner yelled. Both shinigami regrouped to attack.

"You shall be judged!" the rookie yelled. Saito looked hungry for more blood.

Hotaru looked at the high sky as she waited.

The rookie shinigami pulled out his jo to attack.

"No!" Saito screamed as he sailed forward to attack. The rookie took a swing. Crack! Saito fell off course to the ground, reeling in pain.

"No!" he screamed again. Saito leapt up to attack, but the rookie dealt a second blow. However, the demon wouldn't stay down. The rookie turned to his partner.

"Now!" he yelled. "Cast the spell! I don't how much longer I can hold him off! Hurry!"

"Right!" the older shinigami yelled. He held his hand and began chanting. His fingers lit up a bright orange. He opened his eyes with a calm face.

"Game over," he muttered. His partner jumped out of the way as the light came shooting out. Saito didn't make a sound as he was hit. In fact, he just gave the sky a little smile.

"Mother…" the demon whispered as he vanished into thin air back to Hell.

At noon, Emiko grinned at her computer screen.

"I've got it!" she said. The butch demon stood up and left her office.

"Hoto-chan! I've found a way to overthrow Lucifer with a stronger method this time!" she called. The butch demon received no answer.

"Hoto-chan?" Emiko asked as she looked around in the hall. "Where did you go?" She checked her girlfriend's room. No sign of her was even in the house.

"Hm, where did she go?" Emiko asked herself. The butch demon spotted Kazue walking down the hall.

"Hey!" Emiko called. The other demon paused and turned to her.

"What?" she grumbled.

"You seen Hotaru anywhere?" the butch demon asked.

Kazue frowned. "She went to the park."

Emiko raised an eyebrow at her. "The park? Why there?"

Kazue shrugged. "How should I know?"

The leader nodded. "Thanks." She turned and raced out the front door. Kazue rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she mumbled.

_3:00 p.m._

Emiko found Hotaru asleep on the bench. She couldn't help but smile. The butch demon gently shook her girlfriend on the shoulder. Hotaru shot up awake. When she saw Emiko, her mind sparked into attack mode. Her girlfriend gave her a little smirk.

"Come on, let's go home," she said. A strange joy filled the loli demon.

"Okay!" she cheered. Hoto-chan rose to her feet and stood next to her. As they walked home, Emiko looked and saw the bag of Kompeito in her girlfriend's hand.

"Oh, who's the Kompeito for?" she asked. Hotaru lowered her eyes.

"No one…" she mumbled.


	8. Fox Hint

_Chapter Eight: Fox Hint:_

_November 1st, 2009_

_10:00 p.m._

"Do you feel any different?" Tsuzuki asked at Anna's lips.

His girlfriend gave him an odd look. "What?"

He planted another little kiss. "You know… like being kitsune-like?"

She shook her head, confused. "No… why?"

Tsuzuki shrugged. "No reason."

Anna tilted her head at him. "Well, that's an odd question."

"I just keep thinking…" Tsuzuki said.

"Thinking what?" his fiancée asked.

Tsuzuki shook his head. "Nothing."

Anna sat up. "Is something bothering you?" Her boyfriend stared at her for a long time. How to put this without hurting her? Tsuzuki sat back on the futon.

"Uh… well…" he mumbled.

"Yes?" Anna asked. Tsuzuki breathed out and took her hand.

"Asato-kun?" his woman asked. "I don't like when you're worried this. Say something." Tsuzuki looked her deep in the eye.

"Don't lose yourself," he repeated.

"I won't," Anna insisted.

"But how do you know that for sure?" he asked. His woman drew her mouth closed. Tsuzuki held her close to his chest. Anna felt him trembling around her. _Oh, this is serious_, she thought. The woman patted him on the back.

"Shhh," she whispered. "We will be okay."

"You sure?" he asked. Her eyes trailed to the blackened ceiling above. _Oh boy, this is a right predicament_, she thought. "Asato-kun," she said.

"Yes?" her man asked.

"Look at me," Anna commanded.

He could feel his heart sinking in his chest. "Anna-chan…"

"Just do it," she pleaded at him. Tsuzuki hesitated before complying. Anna had a somber looked on her face.

"Good, now listen to me," she murmured. "Listen closely now, you hear? If this kitsune invades my every being, kill me." Tsuzuki's eyes widened when she said that.

"What?" he cried.

"Shhh," Anna whispered. "It has to be you. You can't hesitate on me. Just kill me quick, okay?"

"But…" he murmured.

"No arguments," she cut him off. "Just say you will."

"But…" he tried to protest.

"Just say it," his girlfriend demanded.

Tsuzuki sighed with a heavy heart. "I promise I will kill you if the kitsune takes over your soul."

"Thank you," Anna whispered. She gave him a little pat on the hand. Tsuzuki felt his heart sinking again. He tried his best not to reveal his pain to her. Anna already saw it in his eyes. She leaned in close to his face.

"Don't worry," she whispered at his lips. "We won't come to that point. We will be okay." She gave him a little kiss on his lips. Tsuzuki kissed her back in desperation. He pushed her back onto the futon. She didn't bother pushing him off. _He needs confirmation right now_, Anna thought. _This will help him tonight._ He slipped his tongue into her mouth. Anna only lay there and took it until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

_Anna opened her eyes to calm nothing. Grass as far as her eyes could see while the sunflowers stood tall in bloom. The woman blinked. I've seen this place before… Suddenly, footsteps caught her ear. Anna looked up and saw a figure walking towards her. Her eyes widened as it came closer._

_"Papa…" she murmured. A feathery breeze blew past her as memories of Daisuke flooded her brain. Suddenly, he was gone. Anna frantically looked around._

_"Papa?" she called. "Papa? Where are you? Papa?" Tears and heartache filled her soul once again. "Papa…"_


	9. Haunting

_Chapter Nine: Haunting:_

Tsuzuki awoke to the sound of crying the next morning. He looked and saw Anna by the window in tears. Her boyfriend lifted his head.

"Anna-chan?" he asked. "What's the matter?" Anna turned to him and sobbed.

"Papa!" she wailed. Tsuzuki crawled over to her.

"What about him?" he whispered. "Did you have a dream about your dad?" Anna nodded as she wiped away her tears. Tsuzuki held her in his arms. She cried against his chest. He kissed her on the forehead.

"I can't see him in my dreams anymore!" Anna wailed. "He's there and then he disappears." She looked up at him. "I don't want to forget him!" she whimpered. "I don't want him to disappear from memories."

"Shhh," Tsuzuki whispered. "You won't forget him. I won't let you." Anna cried on his chest. A peculiar sense ease filled Tsuzuki. _Good_, he thought. _Good, she's still here._ They still had some time before the shield broke down. Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed. Tsuzuki jerked his head upwards.

"Answer it," Anna whispered. Her boyfriend gave her a puzzled look.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Answer it," she insisted. The shinigami looked over at his phone sitting on the nightstand. He dropped his shoulders.

"Alright," he said. Tsuzuki let go of his beloved and picked up his phone.

"Hello?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Where are you?" Hisoka asked. "We have a meeting right now!" The older shinigami blinked.

"Huh?" he asked. Hisoka sighed on the other line.

"We have a meeting right now!" he repeated. "Over here right away!"

"Oh," Tsuzuki replied.

"Oh?" his partner asked. "Don't say 'Oh.' Get here now!" Tsuzuki nodded.

"Okay, okay," he said. "I'll be right there."

"Hurry up, you idiot!" Hisoka snapped. He hung up the phone. Tsuzuki lowered his phone and turned to his fiancée.

"I've got to go to work," he said. "You think you'll be okay without me?" Anna nodded and wiped away her tears.

"Yeah," she said. "I'll be fine. Just go to work." Tsuzuki slowly stood up.

"I have my phone on me if you want to talk, okay?" he informed her.

"Alright," Anna replied.

"Okay…" he mumbled. The shinigami turned and walked out the bedroom door.

At Ju-Oh-Cho, Tatsumi started up the slide show for the latest case.

"Corpses have been vanishing all over Japan's funeral homes," he said. "There have been reports of the bodies walking around the city."

Next slide

"It is suspected that this is the work of a summoner," he went on. Konoe turned to Tsuzuki and Hisoka.

"We need you to find the cause and put an end to it," he said.

"Yes sir," the boys said. Tatsumi changed the slide.

"We'll need you to start at this funeral home here in Tokyo," he said. Tsuzuki's face went pale.

"Oh shit…" he mumbled. Hisoka glanced at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. His partner didn't speak. Tsuzuki got up and quickly exited the room.

"Tsuzuki!" Hisoka called out. His partner didn't listen. Once in the hall, Tsuzuki drew out his cell phone and made the call.

"Come on, pick up! Pick up!" he murmured.

"Hello?" his girlfriend asked. The shinigami drew in a deep breath before speaking.

"Anna-chan, we have a problem," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Her fiancé tried to settle his nerves.

"There's a case of moving corpses in Tokyo," he whimpered.

"So?" Anna asked. Tsuzuki drew in another breath.

"We have to start with Ryo's Funeral Home," he said.

"I was there…" Anna said in a quiet voice.

"Yes, and you know the clause of the Hell Stone, right?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes, if the Stone stays in a body over thirty minutes, someone else has to die in their place, right?" his fiancée answered.

"Exactly," Tsuzuki answered.

"So… who died in my place?" she asked. He bit his lower lip.

"The funeral director…" his voice trailed off in the phone.


	10. Guilt

_Chapter Ten: Guilt:_

_May 6th, 2009._

Humiliation

Thanatos thought she had the pay of the century. Anna had died and she has a huge bounty on her soul. Thanatos and Eros had taken their prize to cash it in. She could almost taste that victory sake now. However, the bounty hunter found herself in for a nasty shock. The man at the counter gave her a funny look.

"You claim this Kimoto-san's soul?" he asked. Thanatos nodded. The man tried to hold back a laugh, but failed. The rest of the staff laughed as well. Thanatos didn't get it at first as she looked around, smiling.

"What?" the bounty hunter asked. Eros noticed the problem. He tapped her on the shoulder and pointed it out to her. Thanatos' face dropped.

"What the fuck?" she cried. "This isn't Anna!" Thanatos ended up bringing the funeral director's soul instead.

Since then, she's made it a personal mission to bring Anna's soul in payment for the humiliation she suffered.

"Damn it!" the bounty hunter shouted.

_November 2nd, 2009._

Thanatos and Eros stood outside Ryo's Funeral Home. The girl grinned to herself. Eros looked around.

"Why are we here again?" he asked. His partner snickered.

"Oh," she said. "Just to see some certain people…" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"If you mean Tsuzuki-san and Anna-san…" he said. Thanatos' attention went elsewhere as she smirked at the distance.

"And here they are!" she cheered. Tsuzuki and Hisoka appeared in front of the building with Anna in tow.

"Perfect!" Thanatos mumbled with a grin. The hunter took a step forward.

"Well, well, well!" she said. "If it isn't the murderer and his little blow-up doll! How are you guys doing these days?" Anna fought to keep her temper down at the mocking tone of her voice. Tsuzuki held her hand.

"Did you come here to gloat?" he asked.

"Yeah," Thanatos said with a nod.

"Figures," he mumbled.

"Listen, we don't have time for this," Hisoka replied. "We're on a case here."

"Oh, your old friend, Ito-san?" she asked. The trio gave her a blank stare. Thanatos grinned at him.

"Oh didn't you know?" she asked. "That was the director's name." Anna lowered her eyes.

"Are you done?" Tsuzuki asked.

"No!" the bounty hunter boomed. "You all still owe me for the humiliation I suffered that day!" As she spoke, the trio walked past her. Thanatos whipped around.

"Hey! Come back here!" she screamed. Eros held her back as he tried to calm her down.

"Get back here!" Thanatos snapped. "Get back here!" Inside the funeral home, Tsuzuki turned to Anna.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked. Anna nodded.

"It's the least I can do," she said. "He did die because of me…"

"If this is because of Thanatos…" he said.

"No," Anna cut in. "I want to." She went ahead of the boys. Tsuzuki and Hisoka followed close behind. They found the shrine in his office. The incense had just been lit for the mourning. Anna sank to her knees before the altar.

"Ito-san," she said in a prayer. "I would like to say that I'm sorry first. I'm sorry you died because of me. I didn't know you died seven months ago. I didn't even know your name until today. So, I am so sorry for your loss." Anna paused for a breath. "Also, I want to thank you. Because of you, I got to live to avenge Papa and my aunts and reunite with the man I love after so long. So, I'm sorry, and I thank you. May your soul find peace." She clapped her hands and rose to her feet.

Suddenly, the trio heard a shuffle behind them. They turned and saw a little girl dressed in white standing in the doorway.


	11. Possessed!

_Chapter Eleven: Possessed!:_

She was dead. Her body hadn't decayed yet. They could still tell she was no more. She looked too stiff to be moving anymore. Alas, here was one of the living "corpses" of the case. Tsuzuki took a step forward.

"Hello there," he said in low voice. The corpse didn't speak. Instead, she leapt away in one huge jump.

"After her!" Tsuzuki yelled. He and his partner took off after the corpse. Anna followed behind, curious. The little girl sailed down the hall. She looked like a marionette on strings.

"Sense anything?" Tsuzuki asked Hisoka.

"Barely," he said. "She moves too quickly."

"Damn it!" the older shinigami snapped. The little girl whipped around the corner. The boys followed after her. However, she disappeared into thin air, well not really. Tsuzuki and Hisoka looked around.

"Now where did she go?" Hisoka asked. Tsuzuki spotted a flash of white on the floor.

"There!" he shouted. The boys looked and saw the corpse laid out on the floor. She looked like she was just thrown there and forgotten. Tsuzuki and Hisoka examined the body.

"No marks on her," the older shinigami said. He looked at the child's wrist more closely. Hisoka gently touched her forehead. His eyes shot wide open.

"There's more!" he yelled. Tsuzuki quickly looked up.

"Huh? Where?" he asked. Hisoka stood up and ran down the hall. His partner followed behind him.

"Hisoka?" he asked. "Hisoka, where are you going?" The boy raced down the hall. He came to a hidden room in the back. Hisoka put his hand to the wall. He and Tsuzuki looked inside. Five men and a woman with corpses quickly looked up at the sound. They seemed to have come from the mainland of Asia. The shinigami guessed China at the most. A big, thin man in the group stepped forward.

"Guys, it looks like we have a couple of party crashers," he spoke up.

"What do we do with them, Fan?" another skinny man asked.

"Hm," the boss said. He turned to the shinigami. "Depends on our guests; they don't look human."

Tsuzuki stepped forward. "We could say the same thing about you," he remarked. "What are you doing with those bodies?"

"Who wants to know?" another man asked. Fan held out his arm to silence him. He turned back to the boys.

"Why? You cops?" the man asked.

"Depends on your answer," Hisoka said back. The woman rolled her eyes.

"This is dumb!" she complained. "Let's kill them and finish up!"

"Easy there, Meixiang," Fan cut in. "Pace yourself." By this time, Tsuzuki drew out his fuda. The leader smirked.

"Now, now," he said. "No need for violence."

"Screw this crap!" Meixiang yelled. "Let's kill them!"

Down the hall, Anna finally caught up to everyone. She peeked around the corner. The situation looked tense. _Better stay back_, she thought. Anna watched as Fan put up his hands.

"Calm down," he said. "It doesn't have to go down this road." The shinigami didn't back down. Fan breathed out.

"Look," he said. "It doesn't have to be like this. You'll have to forgive Meixiang. She gets a little…" As he spoke, the woman drew out her claws to attack and lunged forward. Tsuzuki and Hisoka dodged her just in time. The older shinigami summoned his fuda to fight back. Fan shook his head.

"Oh dear," he murmured. "She's done it again."

"What now?" a younger male asked. The leader sighed.

"Looks like we have to finish this quick," he replied. The boys glanced at him out of the corners of their eyes.

"You don't sound upset by that," the tall skinny one said. Fan shrugged with his smile.

"Hey, this would head in this direction at some point," he said with a sigh. He drew out his juan. "Such a shame, really." He charged forward into battle. The other men charged forward. In the battle, Meixiang happened to look up and see Anna watching from around the corner. The woman tried to stay out of view. One look and Meixiang already had a good idea. She vanished in a flash. Anna felt herself slowly backing away when someone grabbed her by the shoulders. Her eyes trailed behind her to her right. Meixiang smirked at her prey.

"Hope you don't mind me dropping in," she said. The woman descended into the witch's body. Anna cringed and trembled.

"Stop it!" she cried. "This is just creepy! Get out of me!" Meixiang settled in and took over. In the fight, Fan looked up and noticed Meixiang going inside of Anna's body. He drew back his juan and stepped back.

"Well then," he said. "Looks like we're done for now." He turned to his boys. "Get in the bodies and come along!" he commanded. The boys drew back and sank into the stolen corpses. The new bodies began hopping away. Tsuzuki and Hisoka looked around, confused.

"Uh… what just happened?" the older shinigami asked.

Ahead, Anna's body felt stiff once Meixiang had finished taking over. Suddenly, her foot lifted up and stepped forward. _My feet… Why are they moving by themselves? Is she doing this to me?_ Anna's body walked over to Fan. The leader smiled at her.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"But of course," Meixiang replied. She turned Anna's body and left with her boys. Hisoka happened to look up puzzled when he heard footsteps.

"Why is Anna leaving with them?" he asked.

"Huh?" Tsuzuki asked as he looked up. Anna and the guys had walked out the fire exit door. The older shinigami's stomach dropped as the color drained from his confused face.

"Oh shit…" he mumbled under his breath.


	12. Siren Trap

_Chapter Twelve: Siren Trap:_

_January 7th, 2009._

_Victoria, Hong Kong._

The hunt began two years ago. The public believed that sirens were evil and needed to be wiped out from Chijou and Meifu. Today marked the second anniversary of that creed.

She hid in the bottom of a ship with thirty-six others. Escaping to anywhere seemed to be the only option. Thousands of sirens were slaughtered each day back in Hong Kong. The survivors gave it their all to keep on living. This ship could lead to freedom or more death.

They pulled out at three in the morning. Only twenty made it to Japan by sunrise.

_November 2nd, 2009._

One light flickered in an abandoned warehouse. Meixiang forced Anna to sit in a chair in the middle of the room. The boys plotted the next course of action. Anna glanced around her.

"Excuse me," she spoke up. Fan looked up at her.

"Yes, miss?" he asked.

"Where are we?"

"Our hideout."

"Why?"

He gave her an odd look. "Why what?"

"Why am I here with you guys?"

Fan smiled and shook his head. "You ask so many questions."

Anna narrowed her eyes at him as the leader patted her on the head. "What else can I do? You dragged me into this."

"Couldn't you shut her up, Meixiang?" one of the younger men asked.

"Sorry Lei," she said. "She isn't a corpse I'm dealing with. She's a living being. I may be able to control the body, but not her thoughts." Anna sneered at her reason.

"Gee thanks," she mumbled. Fan lowered her shoulders.

"Fair enough," he said. He turned to Anna.

"Be a good girl and keep quiet, okay?" he said. She only glared at him. The leader gave her a little smile.

"Right," he said. An idea crossed his mind. "Meixiang, check her bag," he said.

"Alright," she said. She moved Anna's arm to her brown shoulder bag. The hostage didn't bother complaining. _What use would that be?_

"What am I looking for?" Meixiang asked.

"A phone," Fan said.

"Got ya!" she replied. Anna looked puzzled.

"Why do you need my phone?" she asked. Her captors ignored her.

"Found it!" Meixiang said. She drew out an iPhone. Fan looked the device over.

"Good enough," he said. He took the phone and opened the message option. He opened up the new message. Fan began to type.

Help! Being held hostage at warehouse. Help me!

He added Tsuzuki's name to the send box and hit send. Fan grinned to himself.

"Perfect," he said.

"Now what?" Li asked.

"We wait," the boss said. Anna frowned at where this was going.

At Ryo's Funeral Home, Tsuzuki got the text. "It's Anna," he said. Hisoka looked up at him with a puzzled look.

"How?" he asked.

"Well, it's from her phone," the older shinigami said.

"Open it."

"Alright," Tsuzuki opened the message. "Help! Being held hostage at warehouse. Help me!" he read. He turned to Hisoka.

"What do we do?" Tsuzuki asked. His partner thought about that for a moment.

"Clearly, it's a trap," he said.

"But…" Tsuzuki started to protest. Hisoka held up his hand.

"However," he said. "We do need to find out their motives. So, we will trail them." Tsuzuki smiled, but then frowned.

"How?" he asked. His partner shrugged.

"Text back," he said. Tsuzuki nodded once.

"Okay…" he said. He pulled up a new blank message and began to type.

Which warehouse?

He hit send. Tsuzuki turned to his partner.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We wait," the younger shinigami replied.

Anna sneered at her situation. "Can't you let me up?" she asked Meixiang.

"No can do," she said. "We're going to stay put as Fan figures out what to do next." Anna glanced at the open door. Fan and his boys stood outside talking.

"How long will that take?" the hostage asked.

"Who knows?" the captor asked.

"Hmph," Anna grumbled.

"Holy crap! What is that?" Meixiang cried.

"What?" the other woman asked.

"This fox-thing that just smirked at me!" the captor shrieked. "It's creepy!"

"Fox-thing? Oh…" Anna replied. The woman snickered.

"What the hell is so damn funny?" Meixiang cried.

"Oh," her hostage said. "You just met an old family 'friend.'"


	13. Nobu II

_Chapter Thirteen: Nobu II:_

No one suspects him; he was the quiet brother in the Kimoto family. Yasuo could be described as violent and a kiss-up while Shichiro was the tool of the family. Nobu just hid in the background. He could be compared to Tom Hagan in _The Godfather_. Nobu kept the peace among brothers. In fact, his kills were merciful compared to his mother and brothers'.

Today, he had to stop this madness. The "Kill Anna Mission" took on a new development.

_She has the mother kitsune?_ Nobu thought on a train ride from Kobe and Tokyo. _That can't be possible._ This all started back in August.

Haruka flew into a rage at Shichiro's failure to kill Anna. "You let her go?" she snapped. "Why? Why?" Shichiro trembled on the kitchen floor. He looked over at his brothers for help. They didn't dare do so. Haruka took in another heavy breath.

"Look at me!" she snapped. Shichiro jerked his head forward. He tightly shut his eyes.

"Kohaku called her mother!" he cried. Haruka gave him an odd look.

"What?" she asked. Her middle son sat up.

"I sent Kohaku to kill her through that young shinigami," he explained. "But…"

"But what?"

Shichiro breathed out. "It believes Anna has their mother in her soul." Haruka drew back as she took a moment to think.

"Their mother, huh?" she asked. Her son nodded as his mother sat back.

"Well," she said. "This is unexpected." Shichiro blinked at her.

"Now what?" he asked. Haruka glanced up at him.

"We'll have to check this out, of course!" she said. Shichiro nodded. Haruka sneered at her boys.

"What?" she barked. "I'm done with you shits! Get out of here!" Her sons did just that.

So now fast forward to November. Nobu looked out the window at the moving scenery ._Daisuke…_, he thought. _What were you thinking? You can't protect Anna from our curse. She will fall like the rest of us. Our family is like the weeping demon in the fable. She will suffer just like our ancestors. There is no point in fighting back. You tried to cheat fate and look what happened. You left her an orphan for ten years._ Nobu shook his head. _You couldn't escape and neither can she. We are all chained to our fate._

The train went further into Tokyo.

Meixiang tried to stay calm. "What?" she cried. Anna smiled to herself.

"My, my, my," she said. "Where to begin? What have you gotten yourself into?"

"What do you mean? Why do you have a kitsune in your soul?"

"Do you want the long version or the short version?"

"Does it matter? It's freaking me out!"

Anna sighed as she dropped her shoulders. "Well, the long version is rather complicated. Don't know how to shorten it."

"I don't care! What the hell?"

"Okay, okay. Just calm down, will ya?"

"Calm down? Calm down? How the hell…"

"Shhh! Just breathe in."

"But…"

"Breathe, and I'll tell you the best way that I can," Anna told her. Meixiang went quiet as she took in slow breaths.

The hostage waited before speaking. "Calmer now?"

"Barely, now what the hell is this kitsune thing you have here?"

"Okay, it's a curse."

"A curse? You don't mean…"

Anna pressed her lips together. "Afraid so."

"So you are…"

"That's right."

Meixiang closed her mouth, shocked. "Wow…"

"Yeah."

"From which branch?"

"I am Daisuke's daughter."

"Ah…" Meixiang said in a low voice. The conversation got cut off by footsteps. Both women looked up. Fan stood in the doorway.

"Everything okay in here?" he asked.

"Yes," Anna lied.

"She's a Kimoto!" Meixiang cried. Fan gave her a stranger look.

"Say what?" he asked.

"She is one of the kitsune tsukai!" Meixiang shouted. The leader glanced over at Anna.

"This true?" he asked.

"As much as I wish it wasn't, yeah. It is," she replied. Fan thought about the current situation.

"Well," he said. "This is a rather interesting turn of events."

Outside, Nobu trailed the kitsune to an abandoned warehouse. He peeked in through the back window. He could sense exactly what her captors were. He shook his head to himself.

"Oh my, my, my," the old man muttered to himself. "Anna-chan, what you gotten yourself into now?"


	14. Sea of Crimson Spray

_Chapter Fourteen: Sea of Crimson Spray:_

Tsuzuki and Hisoka finally found the abandoned warehouse. Right away, they noticed little drops. These little drops formed a path to the doorway. There came the first body. Li looked like a doll thrown to the ground. In fact, Tsuzuki and Hisoka thought he was asleep.

"Hey," Tsuzuki whispered as he nudged him in the back. "Hey! Hey!" The boy's body flopped backwards. That's when they saw it: dried blood around his mouth and on his clothes. At first, the shinigami didn't want to believe it.

"Is he…" Tsuzuki began to ask. Hisoka leaned forward and touched Li's neck. He froze and sat up.

"He's not the only one!" Hisoka shouted.

"What?" Tsuzuki asked. His partner ran inside the warehouse. Both followed the blood trail. Each time they came across more bodies. But where was Anna?

_-Five Hours Ago-_

Nobu approached the front of the warehouse. A boy guarded the entrance. The old man took a moment to study the lad. Twelve or thirteen years old tops, definitely not Japanese. Chinese, maybe? Still had a boyish face and tall kid too, but not that strong. Nobu took in a deep breath. Li looked up and saw the old man. His guard sprang to life immediately.

"Who goes there?" he asked. Nobu walked forward as Li tried to keep his fear down.

"What do you want?" he asked. "Who are you with?" Nobu towered over him.

"I am irrelevant," he said. "But, what about you?" Nobu put his fingertips to Li's forehead. The boy tried to swat him away.

"What the hell are you doing?" he cried. "Don't touch me!" Suddenly, his body became light and stiff with every inch of his being relaxed.

"Shhh," Nobu whispered. "It's okay now. Your job is finished now. Go to sleep."

"But…" Li murmured.

"Go to sleep. Dream of your homeland," Nobu whispered. Li's body went limp in seconds. Nobu already saw his past.

"You poor child," he murmured. "I will end your suffering here." He took his other hand and traced along Li's chest and chanted a soft incantation. The boy's heart slowed down to a complete stop. He fell straight to his feet. Nobu kept his stoic face. He proceeded inside. The burns appeared on Li's wrists when he was gone.

The old man walked further in and took a sniff. Mold, dust, damp, more dust, and sweat. Nobu paused in his place. _Two more are coming this way!_

"Li!" a man's voice called. "Are they here yet? What's going on out there?" Nobu waited for his next victims to arrive. Two older men walked into the room.

"Li!" the taller one complained. "You can't be getting scared of the dark now. We haven't even finished…" He and the shorter guy looked and saw Nobu standing before them. They blinked at him.

"Uh…" the older one said. "Who are you?" Nobu didn't answer; instead he walked up to the gentlemen. They prepared to attack. Nobu shook his head.

"Sorry," he said. "I don't like violence." He touched them on the forehead. In two minutes, they fell to the ground as well. Nobu walked with bloody hands. But then, something caught his ear. The old man suddenly slowly looked up. Someone tried to hide in one of the empty closets. Nobu walked over to the heat source running through his body.

"I know you are here," he said. "Come out. I just want to talk." No reply. The old man stepped forward.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you," he said. "Just come out and talk." No reply. Nobu made it to the closet. He pushed open the door. The fourth guy looked him in the eye. Nobu gave him a calm little smile.

"Hello," he said. The younger man's lower lip trembled. Nobu reached out to touch him.

"There, there," he said. "I just want to talk." The guy pushed his hand aside and fled. Nobu shook his head.

"Such a shame," he muttered. "He just made things difficult." Nobu followed him down the hall.

"Fan!" the victim cried as he ran to the main room. "Fan, help! We have big trouble!" The leader and Meixiang turned to him.

"What is it, Guozui?" he asked. The young man ran in and caught his breath.

"Li, Han and Niu are all…" he cried. Suddenly, his body froze up and started to float. Fan and Meixiang began to panic.

"Guozui?" Fan yelled. "Guozui, what's wrong? Talk to me!" Blood burst out of his comrade's mouth before he collapsed to the ground. Fan and Meixiang looked on with horrified faces. Nobu stood before them, shaking his head.

"Oh dear," he muttered. "Such unnecessary roughness." He looked and saw the remaining two.

"Oh, hi Anna," he said. His niece shifted her eyes, frowning.

"Hi…" she mumbled.

_-Now-_

Tsuzuki and Hisoka found the main room coated in blood.


	15. Interrogation

_Chapter Fifteen: Interrogation:_

_January 7th, 2009._

_Victoria, Hong Kong._

She trusted him dearly. He had it all together. He found a way to save them all from their deaths. He became the light to their salvation.

They met six months ago. Oh, she'll never forget that night. She looked for solace from the harsh laws. Many doors had been slammed in her face since '07. Some even threatened to kill her themselves. However one night, she came to this temple in a run-down neighborhood. It looked rather warm. Desperate, she went inside.

He looked like an angel that night. His words filled her with hope. Such a beautiful face with white-blue eyes and thin lips. Slender man too. She couldn't tell if he ate or not. Judging by his worn army uniform, probably not. Yet, she loved him still. He became her angel. She followed him on that boat six months ago.

Before they set sail, she felt another sea of uncertainty rise in her stomach. Maybe this was too risky… Suddenly, someone touched her hand. She paused and looked up. Those white-blue eyes came with a smile in the dark.

"It'll be okay," his eyes told her. "We can do this." She nodded once and the boat set sail.

_November 2nd, 2009._

-Four Hours Ago-

Fan immediately shielded the girls. "Take Anna and run, Meixiang!" he ordered. His comrade looked up, bewildered.

"But what about you?" she cried.

"You have to survive for all of us!" he yelled. "I'll hold him off long enough for you to escape. Now, go! Go!" Meixiang reluctantly took off in Anna's body. Fan turned back to Nobu.

"Now it's just us," he said.

"Agreed," the old man replied. Fan drew out his juan and took his stance. Nobu put up his hand.

"I'm not a fan of violence," he said.

"Did you kill them?" Fan snapped.

"Had no choice," the old man replied. "They were in the way." Fan gritted his teeth.

"You monster!" he barked. He held up his juan.

"Now, now," Nobu said. "Let's talk like rational men here." Fan didn't listen as he charged with a scream. Nobu sighed and shook his head.

"I'm so sorry to do this to you buddy," he mumbled. Fan raced over to him with blood in his eyes.

"Die!" he cried with his juan raised high above his head. Splotch! Fan gasped aloud in pain. Nobu squeezed on his heart like a sponge. The juan fell to the cold, hard floor with a loud clack. Nobu looked him in the eye.

"I am so sorry," he said. "But you were being unreasonable." Fan gasped aloud and collapsed while hanging against Nobu's hand. The old man dropped him to the ground. He looked at the body.

"You fought well," Nobu said. "Sleep now." In the supply room, Meixiang and Anna saw everything. The captor trembled as she stood at the open crack.

-Now-

Tsuzuki and Hisoka found Fan's body on the ground. The older shinigami noticed the burns on the wrists.

"The Eda-Kimoto got him!" he gasped. Hisoka paused and looked around.

"Shh!" he whispered. "Do you hear that?" Tsuzuki paused and took a listen.

"What is that?" he asked. They trailed the noise to the supply room. Tsuzuki pushed up the door. Anna and Meixiang both looked up.

"Anna-chan!" Tsuzuki exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Anna replied. "But, I can't say the same for her." The Shinigami turned to Meixiang. The woman collapsed at his feet.

"Arrest me!" she pleaded. Tsuzuki gave her a puzzled look.

"Huh?" he asked. Meixiang looked up at him with frightened eyes.

"Arrest me! Please arrest me! Please!" she begged over and over. Tsuzuki turned to Hisoka for help. The boy only shrugged back.

Meixiang didn't talk in Ju-Oh-Cho for three whole days. Her mind seemed miles away. None of the shinigami could get her to talk. At one point, Wakaba thought she saw tears in Meixiang's eyes. By day three, something had to be done. Tsuzuki and Hisoka came back with Anna in tow. At first, the woman didn't get it.

"Why did you bring me along?" she asked.

"She possessed you, so we figured you would come in use," Hisoka replied.

"You sure about that?" she asked.

"We couldn't think of anything else," Tsuzuki told her. The woman said nothing as they went into the interrogation room. Meixiang looked at up them. Anna leaned in to her ear.

"Hey," she whispered. "How are you?" The other woman didn't speak. She looked away from her.

"My friends and I want to ask you a couple of questions, okay?" Anna asked. The other three took their seats.

"Where are you from originally?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Hong Kong," Meixiang whispered.

"You a tourist?" Tsuzuki asked. She shook her head.

"Then why are you here in Japan?" he asked.

Meixiang played with her boyish-cut cyan hair for a long time before speaking. "I'm a siren."

"What?" the others asked.

"Yes, it's true," she said. "Two years ago, the Hong Kong officials ordered all sirens to be executed. My people were killed every day. There wasn't any place to hide. We had woken up to a new Hell."

She leaned forward on the table. "I met Fan and the others back in August of '08. They took me in and we planned to escape to Japan. So in January, the boys and I snuck aboard a boat with fourteen other sirens to Japan."

"But how did you get by security?" Hisoka asked. Meixiang gave him a little smile.

"I'll show you," she said. The siren stood up and walked around to Anna. The other woman tensed up in a panic.

"Oh god, not again!" she cried. The shinigami moved into a defense position to attack the suspect.

"Relax," Meixiang told them. "I'm just giving you a little demonstration."

Hisoka quickly caught on. "I get it now! You guys possessed the corpses to get by and survive."

"Exactly!" Meixiang replied. "Though a live body isn't as easy to handle as a corpse." The pale-skinned siren returned to her seat.

"So what happened to the others?" Tsuzuki asked. Meixiang's pride began to fade.

"They all died," she said quietly. "Starvation, officials, or illness claimed them. Her uncle killed my brothers and the man I loved. Now, I'm the only one left." Dry tears ran down her face.

"I am sorry for your loss," Anna whispered.


	16. All Girls' Night

_Chapter Sixteen: All Girls' Night:_

Meixiang needed to stay in hiding. The boys drafted Anna to protect her. She didn't bother objecting.

"It's better this way," Tsuzuki reasoned. "She trusts you best." His fiancée didn't respond. She just took the siren in without question.

"I'll have to talk with Rihoko," Anna told him. That evening, she took Meixiang back to Kimoto Manor. Jules greeted them at the door. Anna blinked at her.

"Jules? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Seita invited me over," the former hooker said while chewing gum.

"Okay…" the woman said. I'm going to have a talk with Seita about this later. That would be on hold at the moment. Jules looked over at Meixiang.

"And who the hell is this?" she asked.

"This is my friend, Meixiang," Anna replied. "She's staying with us for a couple days."

"Whatever," Jules mumbled. She headed back to Seita's room.

"And good evening to you too," Anna mumbled. "Rude much?" She turned back to Meixiang. "She's a friend of one of the lodgers here," the woman explained.

"Ah," the siren said with a nod.

"Come in," Anna said. Both women went into the house.

Rihoko sat in the living room doing her homework when she heard the door close. She looked up at Anna with Meixiang.

"Hey Anna," she said. "Who's your friend? Another ghost?" A sweat formed on Anna's head. _Again with the ghost thing?_

"No," she said. "This is Meixiang. She'll be staying with us for a couple of days." The siren gave her a little wave.

"Hi," she mumbled.

"Cool," Rihoko said.

"Yoko-chan make dinner?" Anna asked.

"In the kitchen."

"Thanks." Anna turned to Meixiang.

"Let's go," she said. Both headed into the kitchen. Rihoko went back to her homework. Anna got Meixiang settled in just fine. The siren took the room next to Yoko-chan's.

"Big house," Meixiang commented.

"Yeah," Anna said. "It was a gift to Papa."

"A gift?"

"Yeah, we used to live with a former priest since I was a baby. The summer I finished grade school, Papa decided to move out. Our neighbor couldn't bear that. So, he bought this house for us." Anna chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "Papa didn't want it at first. 'Please, you've done enough for us, Kato-san,' I heard him say over the phone. 'Just let me fall on my own for once.' In the end, Papa reluctantly accepted the house."

"Where did you move from?"

"Kobe."

"Why did you move?"

Anna shrugged. "Dunno. Papa never told me."

"Maybe it was a good reason," Meixiang suggested.

"Maybe…" the other woman said. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Who's that?" Meixiang asked.

"Dunno," Anna said. "Wait here." She climbed off the futon and went down the hall.

"Who's there?" she asked at the door.

"Only me," she heard a woman trying to sound like a man say.

"Emiko?" she asked as she opened the door. The butch demon stood with her girlfriend and Kazue.

"Sup?" she asked. A puzzled look came over Anna's face.

"Emiko? Hotaru? Kazue?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Tsuzuki asked us over here," Hotaru replied.

"What?" Anna asked.

"Your boyfriend called and asked us to come over here," Kazue repeated.

"Yeah, I got that," Anna said. "But why?"

"Said you could use the back-up," Emiko answered. The demons went inside while Anna blinked rather confused.

"Okay…" she mumbled. The woman followed behind.

"So, where's the siren?" Emiko asked, looking from room to room. Anna tried to catch up with her.

"Emiko, she's been through so much!" she yelled. "Leave her alone tonight!" The butch demon didn't listen. She came right to the guest room. Meixiang looked up when she heard footsteps. Emiko smirked at her.

"Hey cutie," she said. The siren gave her a puzzled look.

"Who are you?" she asked. The butch demon chuckled.

"The back-up," she said. "We're all here if you need anything. Chao!" She turned to leave as Meixiang tilted her head, blinking.

"Okay…" she mumbled. The other girls waited in the living room. Hotaru perked up from the couch.

"Well?" she asked.

"She's cute," Emiko answered with a grin.

"How cute?"

"Ninja girl cute."

Hotaru smiled with stars in her eyes. "Really?"

"Oh yeah!" her girlfriend said.

"Can I see her?" the loli demon asked.

"Ask Anna-tan," Emiko replied. The tsukai looked up bewildered.

"What? Why me?" she asked.

"She's under your care, isn't she?" Emiko asked.

"Well, yeah…" Anna mumbled. Hotaru turned to her.

"Please?" she pleaded. All eyes fell upon Anna as the woman lowered her head.

"Fine, but make it quick," she said. Hotaru squealed aloud as she leapt to her feet.

"Yay!" she cheered before skipping down the hall. Emiko followed behind, shaking her head and smiling. Anna breathed out heavily.

"Oh boy," she mumbled before the doorbell rang again. Anna lifted her head to the sound. _Who is that?_ She rose to her feet and went to the door.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Who do you think?" a voice croaked. Anna raised an eyebrow as she opened the door.

"Lucy?" she asked. The woman looked up when someone cleared their throat at her.

"And Stella!" Anna exclaimed. "What the devil?"

"That shinigami guy sent us here," Stella said. The tsukai blinked at her.

"Why?" she asked. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Tsuzuki insisted on us being back-up. Now are you going to let us in or not?" she said. Anna puffed up her cheeks.

"Fine," she muttered. The woman moved aside to let the party girls in. _I'm having a nice long talk with Asato-kun in the morning._


	17. Nobu's Files

_Chapter Seventeen: Nobu's Files:_

At Ju-Oh-Cho, the shinigami went over the Eda-Kimoto murder case. So far, most of the victims were accounted for. Yet, another piece remained missing. The boys looked over the list again.

"Something doesn't look right," Tatsumi said. "We have accounted for the murders by Yasuo and Shichiro, but there is still a huge number left unanswered."

"Haruka's doing?" Tsuzuki suggested. "She does have the experience." Hisoka shook his head.

"Even so, I highly doubt she would have the time to do all of this," he pointed out.

"So who else?" his partner asked.

"Her son," they heard someone say. The boys looked up to see Watari walking into the conference room.

"But we've covered Yasuo and Shichiro!" older Gushoshin said.

"Not them," the blonde scientist said. He placed a new picture on the table. The boys took a look.

"Nobu?" Tsuzuki asked.

"That's right," his friend said.

"Okay," Tatsumi said. "What do you have?"

"Plenty," Watari replied. He started up the laptop and pulled up the files.

"Kimoto Nobu," Watari read. "Age forty-nine from Kobe, Japan. Number of kills: twenty-seven known. I'm still trying to sort out the details."

"What's his kitsune?" Hisoka asked. Watari scrolled down.

"It's normal," he said. "No abnormalities like Kohaku." He moved to the next paragraph.

"The first kill took place in 1977," Watari went on.

"Any foreigners?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Just Americans," Watari said. "Speaking of which…" He scrolled to the next page.

"Meet his wife," he said. The boys crowded around for a closer look.

"She's an American?" Tatsumi asked.

"Uh-huh," Watari said. "Her name is Sharon Marie Kimoto. They married in 1983. I'm still gathering more information on her."

"Is she involved in the kills?" Tsuzuki asked.

"As far as I found, no," Watari replied.

"No?" his friend asked.

"They almost live separate lives," the scientist said as he pulled up another file. "She's a kindergarten teacher in Kobe. No criminal record and she comes from a rich Catholic family. No physical or mental illness in her health records either. She's just… normal." Watari turned to a confused bunch of shinigami.

"You're kidding, right?" Konoe asked.

"How… did they even meet?" Tatsumi asked.

"Why is it that anyone who marries into that family is either crazy or uninvolved?" Tsuzuki asked, blinking. Watari shrugged.

"I can't answer either question for you," he said. They all turned back to the screen.

"I love you too, honey," Nobu said on the phone in his car, driving. "I'm going to stay a couple more days in Tokyo. I'll bring you a gift, okay? Say hi to Vicki-chan for me. Love you too, bye." He hung up the phone as he turned down Oda Lane. In twenty minutes, he found Kimoto Manor again. Nobu gave himself a little smile. _That old house hasn't changed at all._


	18. Words I Never Said

_Chapter Eighteen: Words I Never Said:_

They screamed to her. Bloody hands grabbed at her skinny body. She couldn't understand it.

"What do you want?" she cried.

"Save us!" they cry over and over. "Save us! Save us! Save us!" Terror seized her spine.

"Who are you?" she cried.

"Save us! Save us! Save us!" they kept crying out.

Meixiang awoke panting and sweating. Her heart took a while to calm down. She felt her head swim as she tried to piece her thoughts together. The siren looked around her guest room. The silence in the pitch black filled her eyes as Meixiang gripped the sheets of her futon. She knew what she had to do.

The siren rose out of bed and gathered up her knives_. That man must pay! He killed my family!_ Blood invaded her eyes. Their voices screamed louder in her head. "I will avenge you," Meixiang muttered to herself. She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

The siren took slow, quiet steps down the hall. She paused at Anna's door and looked through the crack. Her host still slept in her futon. Meixiang bowed her head at her. _Thank you, Anna. Thank you for all you have done. _The pale siren turned and left. Each step over the other girls made her stomach turn. _He must pay for my family's deaths._

The sun hadn't risen for the morning. Meixiang didn't pause to take in her surroundings. Blood took over her mind as their cries grew louder and louder.

"Save us! Save us! Save us!" they screamed. Her hand tightened around the knife's handle. I will! I will save you! She made her way out of the neighborhood.

At Kimoto Manor, Anna awoke to the sound of Kobe barking.

"Okay, okay," she mumbled "I'm coming! I'm coming!" The woman climbed out of her futon half-asleep and let her dog out to pee. She didn't notice that Meixiang was gone.

The siren made it to the local park. The angry fire began to slow her down. She sat on the ground and gave herself to tears.

"Fan, my love," she whimpered. "Li, Han, Niu, and Guozui too! All my family and friends! I have nothing now!" The flame called rage fired up higher. She grabbed onto her skinny arms.

_He killed my family! He killed my family! He killed my family!_ Meixiang slowly rose to her feet. Suddenly, her ears caught a man's voice. Her eyes scanned her dimly lit surroundings. They spotted a lone man on a bench. He was talking on a cell phone. Meixiang studied him for a long time. A sudden realization rushed over her.

_It's him!_ Her grip tightened on her knife. He looked unarmed, but she didn't charge. No, he would want that. She turned invisible and waited. Nobu answered his phone earlier.

"Hello? Hey mama. Yeah, she's still in Tokyo. I had a little run-in with some siren. Yes, sirens. Don't worry, I already took them out." He paused and drew out a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, one of them got away. She was possessing Anna's body for ransom or something. I don't know." He listened on for a couple of minutes.

"Hard to determine for sure, but Junzo did sense a strong power from Anna. No, it wasn't the siren either. I asked him what it meant." Nobu paused before speaking. "He says yes. Anna definitely has the mother kitsune locked inside of her. What now?"

Meixiang's eyes widened in panic as she silently gasped. _Anna has… Oh shit! I have to go warn her!_ However, something caught her eye. Nobu stared dead-on at her. He still had the phone to his ear.

"I have to go Mama," he said. "I just found a bug on the cell phone tower." Nobu hung up the phone and rose to his feet. Meixiang panicked as she turned and flew as fast as she could. Nobu smiled and shook his head.

_The poor soul_, he thought. _She just won't learn._

_Seven a.m. at Kimoto Manor._

The girls were all up for the day. Anna looked around the house. She found everyone in the dining room, eating breakfast. Lucy looked up and saw Anna in the doorway.

"Hey, Barbie," she called. "Come eat with us!" The other woman did a head count among the women at the table.

"Has anyone seen Meixiang?" she asked.

"We thought she was still in bed," Hotaru replied.

"Hm…" Anna said.

"Why, what's wrong?" Stella asked.

"I can't find her," the kitsune tsukai responded. She headed out the front door. The other girls looked on at her. Anna had just stepped out onto her lawn when she happened to look up and see Meixiang flying towards her.

"Meixiang?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Anna!" the siren screamed. "Anna! There's something I have to tell you!" Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. The siren flew into Anna's body for safety.

"What's going on? Where have you been?" she asked. Stab! Anna's eyes widened in shock. Nobu stood right in front of her with a knife plunged deep into her chest. Her uncle had no emotion on his face.

"That's the last one," he said. His eyes trailed back to Anna's own. "So sorry for the unnecessary violence, but, she knew too much." The old man yanked out the knife and put it back in his coat. Anna sank to her knees. Her uncle turned to leave.

"I'll be back for you later," he said over his shoulder. Nobu got into his car and drove off. Anna sat on knees as Meixiang's dead body lay before her in a pool of blood.


	19. Dear Willow

_Chapter Nineteen: Dear Willow:_

The girls raced outside when they heard someone drive off. They found Anna still kneeling in the lawn.

"Anna?" Rihoko asked. "What happened? What's wrong?" She and the other girls saw the blood and Meixiang's body on the ground.

"Oh shit!" Stella yelled.

"What happened?" Emiko asked.

"He got her," Anna said.

"Who?" Lucy asked. "What are you talking about?" The other woman shuddered as she put her hand to her chest. She could still feel the blade going in. _I'm still alive_, Anna thought. _But why?_

"Get help now!" Emiko shouted.

"Right," Hoto-chan said with a nod. She raced inside to get the phone. Emiko turned back to Anna and Meixiang's body. She drew in a hard breath.

"Get the body," she said to the other demon.

"Why?" Kazue asked.

"We have to get her out of the way!" the butch demon pointed out. "And clean up her blood." As the girls got to work, Anna sat frozen in shock. Not only because of the siren's murder, but Meixiang gave her a disturbing message with her last breath moments before they were stabbed.

"He said you have the mother kitsune in your soul!"

Elsewhere hours later in downtown Tokyo, Willow Mayer wandered off into the city. She just had to get out. Becky had good intentions, but sometimes they took an annoying route. Today scored a twelve. When that occurred, the girls went off on their own. Willow wanted to see Tokyo nightlife for herself. She wasn't much of a party girl; she was just curious. Anything to get away from Becky. Willow looked at her map.

_Hm, let's see, where to go first? Club or bar?_ Willow looked up at the city clock. Nine o'clock in a huge crowd. Only thing left now is to disappear with the crowd. Willow bit her lower lip. The Japanese can easily identify the tourist among the crowd. Still, not so bad; anywhere away from Becky was fine with her. The pedestrian light changed to walk and she started walking.

The crowd led her to a bar-club named Rabbit in the Moon. The neon lights of the sign drew Willow in. She could feel the glass pounding at her fingertips. Willow smiled to herself as she opened the door and went inside. From the first step, it felt like San Diego during her college days, but only if someone put the music on in Japanese. Willow smiled thinking, _I can do this._

She walked up to the bar and took a seat. To her luck, the corky woman took the last seat. Even then, she had trouble staying on. Willow had to hang on for a few seconds. Once seated, she looked up at the menu. She squinted for a better look as a sweat drop on her head.

_It's all in Japanese! Crap!_ Willow sighed out loud.

"Lost on the menu too?" a woman asked her in her ear. Willow nearly fell out of her stool as she whipped around. Lucy sat in front of her, grinning.

"Hey," she said. Willow gave her a blank look.

"Are you… American?" she asked. The Goth slut smirked at her.

"Pure-blooded," she bragged. Willow glanced around as if trying to escape. Lucy smiled and shook her head.

"There, there, little girl," she whispered. "I'm really nice. I won't bite." Willow gave her an odd look still.

"Did you say lost on the menu too?" she asked. "How do you make heads or tails of that thing?"

"I don't," Lucy said. Willow raised an eyebrow at her.

"Just order what the guy next to you is ordering," Lucy said. Willow gave her a blank stare.

"You sure?" she asked. The Goth slut smirked at her.

"Watch if you're smart," she replied. Lucy looked for the next Japanese patron. Her eyes settled on a fine-looking young man. She moved in close to the guy. He made his order.

"I'll have what he's having," Lucy said. In one minute, the bar tender got their drinks. The Goth slut drank up her victory. She turned to an intrigued Willow.

"Now you try," Lucy said. Willow nodded at her.

"Okay…" she said. The awkward redhead scanned the crowded bar. She found a Japanese woman close to her age and walked over to her. The target ordered her drink and Willow did the same. She took the glass of grass brown liquid. An uncertain look came over her face. _Here I go…_Willow took a heavy gulp. Disgust invaded her face.

"Yuck!" she cried. Lucy laughed aloud. Willow whipped around, frowning.

"You tricked me!" she cried. The Goth shook her head as she smiled.

"Sorry," she said. "It just happens that way." Willow pouted at her.

The rest of the night eased up for Willow. She sampled many drinks at the bar. Lucy watched her, amused. As always, drunkenness came with loose lips. Willow just didn't know how to shut up.

"Oh my, Becky!" she slurred out. "She's always worried about everyone!" Willow took another drink. "She's just convinced that Anna's still alive and sold into a drug smuggling prostitution ring," she went on. The woman laughed. "Crazy, right?" Lucy listened with interest peeked.

"Oh really now?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Willow cheered. "She was reported dead back in May. They said suicide, but we don't believe it!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! She's too for strong that!" Willow turned to the bar tender. "Give me another!" she shouted. The bar tender gave her a nervous look. Right then, Lucy began plotting. Willow downed another shot. The Goth gave her a sly smile.

"And you still haven't found your friend?" she asked.

"No!" Willow whimpered.

"Interesting." She leaned into her ear. "I can take you to her now."

"Yay! Anna now!" Willow passed out from the liquor. Lucy smirked to herself. _Perfect!_

At eleven, the slutty Goth knocked on Kimoto Manor's door.

"Who is it?" the right person asked. Lucy smirked to herself.

"It's just me," she said. The door slowly drew open.

"What is it, Lu-?" Anna asked as she looked outside in the dark. She paused mid-sentence when she saw her old friend in Lucy's arms. The Goth grinned at her.

"Hey Barbie," she said. Anna's mind went into panic.

"Why is she here?" she yelped.

"She wanted to see you," Lucy said with a smile. "I went out drinking and ran into Midge here. After a few drinks, she talked about how she and her friends were looking for you."

"Oh shit…" Anna murmured. She turned back to the women.

"Get her inside," she said.

"You sure?" Lucy asked.

"There's no other place to put her," Anna replied. "Just get her in!"

"Alright," the Goth said. Anna helped them into the house. She had to put Willow in a futon in the room across from hers. Anna watched her sleep from the doorway.

"How is she?" Tsuzuki whispered behind her.

"Fine, but really drunk," his girl said. "She just needs to sleep it off." Tsuzuki gently rubbed her shoulders.

"That's good," he whispered. Anna glanced over at him when she noticed his tone.

"What's wrong, baby?" she asked. Tsuzuki bit his lower lip.

"Well…" he said, "It's just…"

"Just what?"

He swallowed a bit. "I'm worried… that after we marry, I might go crazy or become apathetic."

Anna turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone that's married into your family is like Amaya or Sharon. I still want to be me after the wedding."

"Shh," Anna whispered. "You will be the same, I promise."

"You sure about that?" he whispered. Anna gave him a little smile.

"Does this help?" she whispered. The woman gave him a little kiss on the lips. Tsuzuki smiled to himself as he took her into his arms. He led her over to her desk. Anna playfully pushed him back into her chair.

"I'll take that as a yes," she whispered. The woman gave him another kiss. Tsuzuki smiled at her.

"You took it well," he said back. Then, he slid off her black sleeping shirt before kissing her again. Anna slipped her tongue into his mouth as she unzipped his trousers. Tsuzuki slid down her brown PJ bottoms with her cherry-designed panties. She moved herself closer to him as she unbuttoned her shirt. Doubt took a rest as he let her finish undressing him.

Close to midnight, Willow fluttered her eyes open and lifted her head a bit. Her mind became puzzled at the sight across the hall. _That's Anna. And… she's having sex with some Japanese guy. And why is her back all scarred up like that?_ She couldn't tell if it was real or a drunken dream.


	20. Go Back Home

_Chapter Twenty: Go Back Home:_

_August 2000._

Willow wandered around campus looking for someone to talk to. The photo club was great, but she wanted some new faces. Finally, one caught her eye. Anna sat alone under a tree, writing in her journal. Willow smiled to herself. Good enough. She made her way over to her target.

"Yoo-hoo!" Willow called out. Anna nearly jumped out of her seat. Willow gave her a little smile.

"Hiya!" she said. Anna blinked at her.

"Hi…" she mumbled.

"Mind if I sit down?" Willow asked.

"Uh…" her friend said.

"Great!" Willow cheered. She sat down next to Anna. The Japanese-American looked on uneasily. Willow noticed her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Anna shook her head.

"N-Nothing," she lied. Willow patted her on the shoulder.

"It's okay," she said. "I'm here for you; we all are." Anna stared at her with big eyes. She didn't know how to respond and nodded instead. Willow meant what she said to this day.

_November 5th, 2009._

Anna and Tsuzuki watched Willow from across the hall.

"So what do we do with her?" Tsuzuki asked.

"I'll think of something," Anna said.

"She's not supposed to be here."

"I know."

"Should I erase her memories as well?"

Anna shook her head. "No, I'll talk to her."

"Be careful."

"I will." Anna rose to her feet and walked across the hall. Willow sat next to her futon trying to figure things out. Last night's image wouldn't get out of her head. Anna having sex with that guy with all of those whip scars all over her back. Willow tried to stomach it all. _What if Becky's right? Anna might be whoring and that was a john. Oh, that's not good. What do I do? What do I do?_

"Willow," she heard someone say. The corky redhead jerked her head upwards. Anna sat in front of her. Willow nearly jumped backwards.

"Y-Y-You're alive!" she cried. Anna nodded.

"Yes, now listen closely," she said. "This will be hard to explain right away." She noticed the confused look on her friend's face. It felt like that moment in freshman year, only Willow was the uneasy one now.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked.

"You slept with that guy," she said.

"Yes…" her friend answered in a calm tone. "He is my fiancé." Willow shook her head, panicked.

"And your back…" she yelped. Anna's eyes shot wide as the color drained from her face. _Oh fuck! She saw my…_ Anna tried to stay calm.

"Okay, he didn't do that to me," she began again. Willow began backing away.

"Becky was right!" She reached over for her phone.

"Willow! Wait, listen!" Anna cried. The other woman tried to dial their friends.

"Hang on, Anna! I'll save you!" she cried. She was about to hit "call" when Anna stopped her. Willow looked up frantically.

"Anna?" she asked. Her friend gave her a stern look.

"Put down the phone and listen," she said.

Willow looked like a deer caught off guard by the hunter. "But…"

"Put down the phone and listen!"

"But…"

"Willow! Shut up, put down the phone, and listen!" Anna snapped. The slender redhead hesitated at first. Anna only got defensive when something was wrong. This was more dead serious than she thought. Finally, Willow lowered the phone. Anna drew in a breath to ease herself.

"Now, listen closely," she said. "This will be hard to swallow. Nod if you understand." Willow slowly did so once.

"Good," her friend said. Anna paced herself as she gave Willow the edited version of her family history and the events up to this point. Her friend stared at her with bewildered eyes.

"And… he's not a pimp?" she asked pointing at Tsuzuki afterwards.

"No," Anna said. A sweat drop formed on the shinigami's head. _Where did she come up with that?_

"So… what will happen to me?" Willow asked. Anna sighed as she shook her head.

"You'll have to stay here for the time being," she said.

"How long?"

"Until I figure out what to do with you."

Willow pouted at her. "What about Becky and them?"

"I'll deal with them later too!" Anna lowered her head, frowning. _Why does this mess keep getting more difficult?_


	21. Daisuke's Notes

_Chapter Twenty-One: Daisuke's Notes:_

Tape Entry #35:

April 7th, 1983.

My name is Kimoto Daisuke. I am eighteen years old and a single dad. I am in fear of my daughter. She could grow up to be a monster. She's a baby now, but still…

There is no way to tell which girl will inherit the mother kitsune. Our powers don't manifest until our teen years, but what if hers manifest sooner?

It's silly to be afraid of a little baby like this, but I can't help it. I don't even know what to do if she has the Mother. I don't want to kill her. That would make me no better than Haruka.

-He sighed on tape-

I have to do something. But what can I do?

-He pauses on tape-

I don't know what do!

-End of Tape #35-

Anna lay on her futon as the tape wound to a stop. Too much bogged her mind. Meixiang's murder, Willow's sudden appearance, her with the Mother Kitsune… Anna tightly shut her eyes. The spinning of spools lingered in her ears long after the tape stopped. Even her own father feared the last thought. Her stomach turned once again.

"That was your dad, wasn't it?" she heard someone ask. Anna opened her eyes and lifted her head. Willow stood in the doorway staring at her. Her friend sighed and dropped her head back.

"Yes," she said. "That was him."

"Was he talking about the kitsune?"

"Yes, yes." Anna closed her eyes again. _That's right; I still have her to deal with._ Her hand dropped to her side when her cell phone rang. _What now?_ Anna reached around on the floor for her phone. She hit the call button and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Anna!" Emiko said on the other line. "Just the person I wanted to talk to."

The tsukai sighed and put her hand over her face. "Please let there be some good news!"

"Oh, yes."

"What?"

"Hoto-chan and I have finished translating Daisuke's notes."

Anna sat up with a jolt. "You have?"

"Hell yes! They are waiting for you in a box by the front door."

Anna's face became puzzled. "Where are you?"

"Come to the front door."

"Okay…" Anna stood up and walked out of her room.

"Anna? Where are you going?" Willow asked after her. Anna made it to the front door and peeked out. Emiko stood on the other side with the phone to her ear. She grinned as she gave her a small wave.

"Hey," she said. Anna hung up the phone.

"Hi," she said back. Emiko handed her the box.

"Enjoy!" she said. The butch demon turned to leave.

"Wait!" Anna said. "Where are you going?"

"To go do my ladylove!" Emiko replied.

"Go do your…" Anna began to ask. The lights suddenly flipped on in her head. "Oh! You and Hotaru…" she said.

"Yeah, sweet cheeks!" Emiko yelled back. "See ya!" She disappeared from view. Anna only smiled and shook her head. _Oh Emiko…_ The woman looked down at the box in her arms. _Right…_ Once back to her room, the studies began again in a new field.


	22. Toshima Letters

_Chapter Twenty-Two: Toshima Letters:_

Six whole days of research and Anna worked to study her father's notes. She struggled on the first day. _So much detail_, she thought. _Papa sure was thorough. How will I get through all of this without going crazy with too much information? I know; I'll break it up into sections. Now let's see…_

Anna looked through the many pages. _There, ten pages a night. Shouldn't be too bad. I should be up to chapter two in a week._ Anna smiled to herself_. If I can learn different languages without much work, this should be child's play!_

Six days led to no sleep, not much time to eat, polishing the glass box, and reflection overkill. Her own notes buried her futon and by day seven, she sat back and took a breath.

"I did it," she whispered. Anna then passed out asleep. _Save the celebrating for the morning. Sleep is good._

By noon, Anna came to and remembered her triumph achieved just hours earlier, at three a.m. She gave herself a little smile. _I've got the foundation down. What to do next?_ Her stomach rumbled for a real meal this time.

"Oh yeah…" she mumbled with a sweat drop on her head. "Probably should eat first…" _Right…_ Anna rose to her feet and went to the kitchen. While she ate, she reflected on what she learned. One spell pegged her curiosity. _Was does it do?_ _Papa didn't fully explain._ Like normal students, Anna became tempted to try it out as she took another sip of tea.

"I beseech the twelve gods before me. Bring forth your innocent to me," the woman murmured. A cool breeze blew past her and stopped. Anna looked around.

"Nothing happened," she said. Suddenly, a low groan caught her ear.

"Seita?" she asked as she turned her head. A young woman her age sat across from her. She looked hung-over from a rough night. Judging by her short kimono and make-up, "working girl" described her best.

"Oh god," the woman moaned. "What a night." Anna sat there, blinking. _Okay…_ The other woman looked up. Anna gave her a little wave.

"Hi…" she mumbled. The "guest" blinked at her. She looked at her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"My house…" Anna replied.

"Why?"

"Uh… I summoned you, I guess."

The other woman blinked. "How?"

"I guess I said a summoning spell."

"A summoning spell?"

"Yeah, but where did you come from?"

"Heaven."

Anna blinked at her. "What?"

The other woman nodded. "Yeah. I was in Heaven, and then I came here."

Anna tried to grasp what she just heard. "So… you're dead?"

"Yes."

"Okay…" Anna hadn't expected this. _I just summoned a spirit from the dead? That's what that spell does?_ Anna looked at the woman.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Yuka," the spirit replied. Anna nodded. Guess it's safe to tell her.

"I'm Anna," the kitsune tsukai replied. Yuka gave her a funny look.

"Anna?" she asked. "Why an American name?"

"I was told I was named after my mother's grandmother," Anna replied. "In fact, both of my names come from her grandmothers."

"Where is your mother?" the hooker asked. Anna felt herself weaken inside.

"Dead," she said. "She died after I was born."

"Oh…" Yuka murmured. Anna pressed her lips together.

"So…" she said. "Anything you want?"

"Hm?" Yuka asked.

"Is there anything you want while I have you here?" Anna asked.

"I don't know…" the spirit said.

"Come on," Anna said. "There must be something." The spirit thought about this offer.

"Well…" she said. "I never got to say goodbye to my son."

"Alright then," Anna said. "Where does he live?"

"Toshima," the spirit said. The other woman nodded.

"Fine," she said. "I'll take you there." As she stood up, a giddy feeling came over her.

Anna had to keep her identity hidden while out in public. Nobu could be anywhere looking for her. Yet, Anna's mind went back to her client.

"So," she said. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well," Yuka said. "I used to be a call girl." Anna almost stopped dead in her tracks. She looked up before boarding the subway.

"What?" the woman asked. The spirit shushed her.

"Not so loud," she said.

"Ah," Anna replied. They sat down on the subway.

"Anyway," Yuka said. "I used to be a call girl in Toshima. I had a rough start in life. My mom left me at a young age. My dad and I didn't get on so good. We didn't really have a relationship at all. In fact, he and I lived two separate lives. He drank all day. I studied and worked." Yuka smiled as she sat back. "I had a bright future. I wanted to get out of the city for a quieter life. I worked to achieve this goal day and night. But then, I met a beautiful boy."

"And then what happened?" Anna asked. Yuka lowered her head.

"One thing led to another, and then I got pregnant. My plans became delayed. I don't hold any grudges against that beautiful boy. Neither one of us were thinking. Just two dumb kids in lust." She chuckled to herself. "The only good thing to come out of that relationship was my son, Gaho."

"So why become a call girl?" Anna asked. Yuka breathed out as the subway pulled to a halt at the stop at Toshima. She turned to Anna as she stood up.

"Desperation and poor decisions," she replied. "All of which led to my death."

"How did you die?"

"An overzealous client accidentally over-drugged me with sake, weed, and pills. Yeah."

Anna's jaw dropped. "Wow…"

Yuka nodded. "Yeah." Anna accompanied the dead call girl to her apartment. As she watched mother and son reunite for last time, an idea came into her head. _I can make good use of this new trick_, she thought.


	23. Sharon Kimoto

_Chapter Twenty-Three: Sharon Kimoto:_

_Kobe, Japan._

Tsuzuki rang the doorbell. He and Hisoka looked at their surroundings as they waited. The yard looked well-kept. Leaves were piled up in the corner. Most of the benches were covered for the winter. Even the yellowing grass looked neatly trimmed. The boys turned forward when they heard the door open. A woman stood before them, blinking. She looked to be about thirty-nine or forty. Her white-blond hair was pinned back into a bun. Judging by the duster in her hand, she had been doing housework when the doorbell rang.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We're looking for Sharon Kimoto," Tsuzuki spoke up. "Are you she?"

"Yes," the woman answered. "Why?"

"We need to ask you a couple of questions," Hisoka said. "Mind if we come in?" Sharon nodded once.

"No, go ahead," she said.

"Thank you," Tsuzuki said with a bow. All three went inside and Sharon closed the door behind them.

The house looked like a picture out of a magazine. Everything neat and put away with not a single speck of dirt in sight. The shinigami had an icy feeling come over them.

"Nice place you have," Tsuzuki spoke up.

"Thanks," Sharon replied. "My husband bought this place." She turned to them.

"What did you want to ask me?" she asked. Hisoka stepped forward.

"It's about your husband," he said. Sharon grew quiet, looking down at her hands.

"Okay, what about him?" she asked.

"What is he like?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Well," she said, thinking. "We don't talk much, but he is a good man."

"How?"

"Well, he provides for us."

"Us?"

"Our daughter, Victoria, and myself."

"Ah."

Sharon pressed her hands together. "Want any tea?"

"Sure," the boys said. She went into the kitchen and got the tea. The boys took a sip when they received their cups.

"This is good," Hisoka said. Sharon smiled at them.

"Really? Thanks," she said.

"What else about your husband?" Tsuzuki asked. Sharon lowered her cup.

"Like what?" she asked. Tsuzuki shrugged at her.

"Anything, really," he said. Sharon lowered her head.

"I don't know," she lied.

"You don't know?" Tsuzuki asked. Her hands began to tremble.

"I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"I told you, I don't know," she lied. Hisoka sensed her shame and guilt flowing through him. _She's hiding something_, he thought. _She knows more than she's letting on._

"Listen," he cut in. "It's okay; you can tell us."

"Is he abusive?" Tsuzuki asked. Sharon shook her head.

"No, no, no," she murmured.

"Does he cheat on you?"

"No."

"Is he involved in any crimes?"

Sharon froze at that question. "Crimes?"

"You know, like kidnapping? Arson? Rape? Murder?"

Sharon's hands gripped her cup. "I want you to leave."

"I'm sorry?" Tsuzuki asked. Sharon lifted her head.

"I want you to leave!" she repeated. Tsuzuki was about to speak when Hisoka stopped him. His partner gave him a puzzled look.

"Hisoka?" he asked. The boy rose to his feet.

"We are so sorry to intrude," he said. "Thank you for your time."

"Get out," the woman hissed. The shinigami got up and departed. Sharon let out a hard breath.

"We almost had her!" Tsuzuki complained outside. "Why did you stop me?"

"You're turning this personal," his partner said.

"I am not!" the older man snapped.

"Yes, you are!" Hisoka barked. "Now, I've got all the information we need on her." Tsuzuki gave him a surprised look.

"You what? When? What?" he asked. Hisoka held up his hand and shushed him.

"I'll tell you when we get back to Ju-Oh-Cho. Okay?" he answered. Tsuzuki frowned.

"Fine," he said, pouted.

"Very good," his partner replied. Both shinigami vanished to Meifu. From the window of the house, a teenage girl watched them with her face pressed up against the glass.


	24. Call to My Husband

_Chapter Twenty-Four: Call to My Husband:_

The boys left Sharon panicky. She picked up her phone and dialed the number. Her heart worked itself up as the other line rang.

"Hello?" a man asked. Sharon's heart began to relax.

"Nobu?" she asked.

"What is it, Sharon?"

"Are you in trouble again?"

"No… why?"

Sharon closed her eyes. "Some men came by the house today."

"What did they want?"

"They were asking about you."

"These men, what did they look like?"

"One was a boy about Vicki's age. The other was a man in a trench coat."

"Was Anna with them?"

"Who?"

"My niece, was she with them?"

"I thought she was dead."

"She was resurrected, remember? I told you that months ago. Now, was she with them or not?"

Sharon paused as she tried to remember that conversation months back. "Oh yeah, you did tell me."

"Was she with them or not?"

"No."

"I see…"

Sharon pressed her lips together. "So are you in trouble again?"

"Not just yet."

"Not just yet? What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you that, Sharon." His ear caught the sound of his wife starting to whimper on the phone. "Aww, sweetheart. Don't cry."

"I don't want you taken away from us!"

"No one's going to take me away from anywhere."

"When will you be home?"

"I will let you know."

"Promise me you'll come home!"

"I promise, dear. Anything else?"

Sharon pressed her lips together again. "No."

"I love you, dear."

"I love you too."

"I'll be home soon."

"Alright."

"Buh-bye."

"Bye," Sharon said in a small voice. The couple hung up together and Sharon slid back in her seat.

"Was that dad on the phone?" someone asked her.

"Hm?" the woman asked as she lifted her head. Vicki stood in the doorway. Sharon nodded as she tried to keep it together.

"Yes," she said. "That was your father."

"He in trouble again?" her daughter asked. The woman shook her head.

"He won't say," she said.

"Well, when's he coming back?"

"Don't know."

Vicki turned and went back upstairs. Sharon tightly shut her eyes. _Not this again! He promised to stop killing._ She shook her head as she gripped her armchair. _No! I won't break up this family!_ Her heart sank to her stomach and doubled in beats. _Come home quick, Nobu!_

"She knows about the Eda-Kimoto murders?" Tsuzuki asked in Ju-Oh-Cho.

"That's right," Hisoka replied.

"And… she doesn't do anything to stop it?" his partner asked. The boy shook his head. Tsuzuki gave him an uneasy look. He already knew the answer to the next question.

"And the daughter?" he asked.

"She studies the craft as well," Hisoka said.

"And her kitsune?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Full-breed copy," his young partner said. Tsuzuki blinked.

"Copy?" he asked.

"Yeah, she just like most of the family," Hisoka replied.

"And Kaoru?"

"He too has a copy, but he doesn't use his kitsune."

"Because he left the family?"

"Yes."

"And he's on the pills to sustain the hunger?"

"Yes."

"And what about Shichiro and Amaya? Do they have any children as well?"

Hisoka shook his head. "They had a son, but he died infancy. No name."

Tsuzuki tried to hide his desperation from his partner. "Any other cousins besides those three?"

"We don't know. Juriko died when she was sixteen." Hisoka paused and eyed him. "Why are you so concerned about Anna's cousins?" he asked. Tsuzuki threw up his hands.

"I'm just covering all possibilities that Anna might not have the mother kitsune." He shifted his focus back to his paperwork. Marrying Anna came with a headache-inducing fee already.


	25. Commander and General

_Chapter Twenty-Five: Commander and General:_

In the evening, Emiko sat on her big bed and waited. She picked up her cell phone and opened the messages. Recipient: Hotaru.

Mama feels lonely tonight. Come up and talk to me.

Emiko smiled as she hit send. Now to sit back and wait. In a few minutes, there came a knock on the door. The butch demon smiled to herself.

"Enter!" she said. She watched as the door slid open. Hotaru stood in the doorway looking shy. Her "mama" smirked at her.

"Hello there," she said. Her girl shuffled her feet.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Why yes," Emiko said. "Come here." Hotaru shuffled her feet again before walking into the room. She sat on the bed next to her girlfriend. Emiko gave her a little kiss on the lips.

"What did you want to talk about?" Hotaru asked.

"Us, the kitsune, and overthrowing Hell," her "mama" said. The "daughter" looked at her.

"Overthrow Hell? Again?" she asked. Emiko nibbled on her lower lip.

"Yes, yes," she said. "I found the answer."

"How?" Hotaru asked. Emiko smirked at her.

"How bad do you want know?" she asked. The butch demon nibbled on the loli's ear. Hotaru moaned.

"Tell me, mama!" she whimpered. "Tell me more!" Emiko smiled at her.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yes!" Hotaru moaned. She groped the butch demon's small breasts.

"Mmm, okay," her girl said. She climbed on top of Hotaru.

"I looked over our weak points," Emiko said.

"And?" Hotaru asked. Her girlfriend kissed her on the lips.

"We had a rat," she said.

"A rat?" Hotaru asked.

"Yes," her lover said. "I thought I weeded out the traitors." Emiko sat up and slid off her shirt. Hotaru tried to sit up, but her woman pushed her back down.

"Uh-uh-uh," she said, shaking her head. "I'm the commander tonight and you are the general, okay?"

"Yes ma'am!" Hotaru said with a salute.

"Very good!" Emiko replied. "Take off that dress!"

"Yes ma'am," her general said. Hotaru grabbed onto her frilly black and white dress and slid it off.

"Good girl," her commander said. She kissed her on the lips.

"So what do we do with the rats?" she asked.

"Ah," her "mama" said. "Very careful screening."

"And the army?" Hotaru asked. Emiko kissed her on the neck. Her girlfriend trembled under her. The butch demon smiled to herself.

"I can contact some of my old friends and rebuild the army," she replied. Hotaru began to frown.

"How?" she asked. Emiko licked on her right shoulder.

"I've got that worked out," she whispered.

"You know, this is why we fought last time," Hotaru reminded her. Emiko unzipped her baggy jeans.

"I know," she said. She slid off her jeans and threw them aside. "But, this will be different."

"Really now?" her "daughter" challenged.

"Oh yes," her girlfriend said with a serious face. She pulled off her wet, grey boy shorts and threw them down. "Now spread your legs for me." Hotaru smiled as she complied. Emiko licked her lips.

"Good general," she said. She reached behind her and unhooked her black and pink bra. Hotaru closed her eyes and relaxed.

"Mmm," she said. Emiko lowered her mouth down to Hotaru's hard, pink nipples.

"Oh yeah," her girlfriend moaned. "Oh shit! Oh!" The commander smirked to herself.

"You like that, huh?" she asked.

"Yes!" Hotaru wailed aloud.

"Very good!" the butch commander said. Emiko slid off her girlfriend's wet black panties, spread her own legs, and lined herself up with Hotaru. Pleasurable cries filled the air as two wet kittens played with each other for the rest of the night.


	26. Inner Echoes of Myself

_Chapter Twenty-Six: Inner Echoes of Myself:_

_November 11th, 2009._

Anna sat at her desk and studied chapter two of Daisuke's notes.

"Merging with your kitsune," she read to herself. _Perplexing title._ She read it over again. _Okay then…_ "The tsukai and kitsune must be bonded as one." _Go figure._ "If a bond doesn't exist, the kitsune won't obey its master." _Hm._

Anna read through the page-long introduction. So much detail simplified sat before her. _I wonder how old Papa was when he had to study these notes_, Anna thought. _I imagine really young. _She shuddered in her seat. _I feel old just thinking about it._ She tried to push it out of her head and keep reading. Section one relit her quest to unlock the kitsune.

"Contacting Your Kitsune." _Interesting title._ "Communication is key with your kitsune. Establishing contact is critical." Anna sat back and pondered that.

_Okay, but mine is locked inside of me. How do I manage that?_ She froze for a quick second. _Wait! I could at least try to see it._ Anna weighed her options. _Guess it wouldn't hurt._ She turned back to the book for further instructions.

"How to contact your kitsune. Close your eyes and focus in on yourself." _Heh, easy enough._ Anna sat back and closed her eyes_. Focus in on myself. Focus in on myself. Focus in on myself. Focus in on… myself._

_Anna opened her eyes and looked around at the cool sea of white._ Is this my soul? _She tried to venture forward. Soft breezes hit her face. The white suddenly began to part around her in tiny splits at first. Then, the rip grew wider. Anna pushed herself to keep going. A thin whistle filled her ears. Her whole heart began to speed up._ Something's here! _Anna treaded through the split further. A burst of heat uncoiled before her. Little bits began to run towards the heat._

Turn back! This is not a place for you! Turn back! Turn back! _Anna glanced up at the endless white ceiling._

Aunt Yumiko? Aunt Kirika? _A rough wind burned at her feet._ Ow! _Anna looked below her. A massive coil burned her feet below where she floated. She shielded her eyes for a better look. Red and black burned below her. Jets of steams burst up to her._

What is this?_ Her eyes caught some writing in white through the black and red._ What is that? _Anna tried to read the writing before her. She didn't know what it said, but she recognized the style._ That's Papa's writing! _It didn't take her long to figure out just what she was looking at under her feet._ This is Papa's shield! _Anna tried to look further past the heat._

Turn back! Turn back!

"Yo, Barbie!" someone yelled in reality. Anna quickly jerked her head. Lucy stood in the doorway. The other woman blinked at her.

"Lucy?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Tsuzuki asked me to come over here to check on you," she said.

"Why?" Anna asked. The Goth gave her an indifferent shrug.

"How should I know?" she asked. The other woman shook her head.

"Anyway, what do you want?" she asked.

"Lunch is ready," she said.

"Ah," Anna said. She got up from her desk and headed out the door. However, the woman paused and turned to see Lucy staring intently at her. Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" she asked. Lucy gave her the Cheshire grin of a cat.

"Come on, show it!" she said. Anna gave her a lost look.

"Show you what?" she asked.

Lucy leaned close to her face. "Show me where your uncle stabbed you!"

"Huh?"

The Goth gave her a shrug. "I don't know. I just have a thing for knife wounds. Except for the ones across the throat. That's just wrong."

"You're weird." Anna walked down the hall to get her lunch. Even that couldn't ruin her curious high to contact her kitsune.


	27. Scan Test

_Chapter Twenty-Seven: Scan Test:_

Emiko's scan test on Anna went like this:

In the early hours of the next morning, Anna knocked on Wisteria House's door. Emiko opened the door.

"Anna!" the butch demon said as she grinned at her. "Just the person I needed to see." The other woman raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Anyway," Emiko said. "What can I do you for?"

"I need you to scan something," Anna said.

"What?" Emiko asked. Her friend leaned in close.

"The kitsune," she whispered. The butch demon grinned.

"You just read my mind!" she said. Emiko grabbed her and pulled her inside. They went straight to her office. Emiko set up her equipment.

"Stand over near the wall," she said. Anna complied without question.

"Do I need to take anything off?" she asked.

"Not today," Emiko said. "Lower your arms." Anna put her arms by her sides.

"Very good," the butch demon said. She flipped open her laptop and started it up. With the program opened and loaded, Emiko ran the scan.

"Please keep still," she said. Anna stood motionless as the white lights ran up and down her body. The scanner gave off a low hum. The image came up on the screen. Anna glanced at her.

"Well?" she asked. Emiko didn't look up.

"Tell me something," she said. "Why did you come here?"

"Sorry?"

"Why did you come to me? Why not go to Watari and them?"

Anna gave her a puzzled look. "What? No real reason, actually. I trust you more." Knowing that was a lie, the butch demon waved her off.

"Anyway," Emiko said. "Come and look at the scan." Anna walked over and took a look.

"Check it out," the butch demon said. Anna looked at the screen. The black and red waves invaded the screen.

"Before," Emiko said. Click. The screen changed to black and red waves with thin, white cracks.

"After," the butch demon said. Anna tried to piece it together.

"So," she said. "How is it?" The butch demon gave her a little smile.

"You've made a little progress with breaking the shield," she said. "The cracks are starting to sink in."

"But?" Anna asked. Emiko sat back some.

"You still have a long way to go," she said.

"How?" the witch asked.

"Keep studying," the butch demon said. Anna bit her lower lip and nodded. _Right…_

Meanwhile, Tsuzuki waited for Anna to return to her room. He had to do another follow-up on her.

"She went to talk to Emiko," Rihoko said. "You want me to call her?" Tsuzuki shook his head.

"Nah, I'll wait for Anna-chan," he said. The shinigami headed down the hall, but when he opened her door, a rotten surprise awaited him. He noticed stacks of paper on her futon.

_What is that?_ Curious, the shinigami walked over for a better look. He didn't have to read all of them before he figured out what he was reading. Tsuzuki grimly shook his head.

_Oh Anna-chan_, he thought with a twisting pain in his heart. _How could you?_


	28. Misunderstanding to Love

_Chapter Twenty-Eight: Misunderstanding to Love:_

Anna came home at ten a.m. As she took off her shoes at the front door, she noticed a pair of men's black dress shoes. Anna recognized them and smiled. _Asato-kun!_ She made her way down the hall.

"Aww, that's so sweet of you, Asato-kun," she called as she made it to her room. "Coming all the way here to check on…" Suddenly, she stopped when she felt no warmth from her man this morning. He was pissed, in fact. Anna's own girlish excitement drew back.

"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked. Tsuzuki didn't speak as he held up her notes. Anna's stomach dropped.

"Oh shit," she mumbled. "I knew I forgot something this morning." Tsuzuki glared at her.

"How could you?" he asked. Anna tried to stay calm.

"I wanted to defend myself," she reasoned.

"And you're using all of this?" he shouted.

"Well… yes," she said.

"Why?" Tsuzuki barked.

"Well, I want to defend myself," she said. "In order to do that, I have to fight fire with fire." Her argument didn't sway him. "What?" Anna asked. Tsuzuki all but scoffed at the idea.

"You'll break Daisuke's shield," he said.

"I know."

"He would not want that, you know that."

"Papa would want me to protect myself in any way."

"But not like this!"

Anna herself became agitated. "Well, what am I supposed to do?"

Tsuzuki tried to calm down. "Yes, I want you to be able to protect yourself too. But, you don't need to do all of this."

"Yes, I do," she countered.

"And how do you know that?" he challenged. Anna shook her head.

"I don't," she said.

"See?" her fiancé said. "Even you aren't sure of that!"

"But it wouldn't hurt to see, would it?" she asked.

"It's not worth it!" Tsuzuki argued.

"So it's not worth not being a victim either!" Anna shouted.

"I don't want you to be a victim either," he said. "That's why you have all of us."

"But what if you aren't there when I need you?" she asked. "You can't protect me 24/7. I have to fight back at times."

"But you never ask for our help," Tsuzuki pointed out. "Why didn't you just ask me for help? Don't fight this battle on your own anymore. We will be married soon. So please, don't do this alone with so many dangerous risks!" Anna found herself at a loss for words.

"Uh… well…" she said. Her eyes lowered to her feet. Tsuzuki sighed and shook his head.

"Unbelievable," he said. The shinigami got off the futon and began collecting the rest of the notes. Anna looked on confused.

"What are you doing with my notes?" she asked. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to destroy them," he said. "This is for your own good." Startled anger came over her.

"But… But…" Anna cried.

"No arguments!" Tsuzuki yelled. "I will not risk losing you to them!"

"But I need my notes!" she cried. Tsuzuki didn't listen as he picked up the last of them. Anna ran over to try and stop him, but she received a shock to the chest.

"A shield? Really?" she snapped.

"It's for your own good," he said. Tsuzuki he went out the door. Anna stood there and pouted.

"Damn you, jerk," she mumbled under her breath.

However when he got back to Ju-Oh-Cho to make the report, Tsuzuki happened to look down at Anna's notes. The list of topics to learn drew him to the very top.

"Spells to Protect Someone You Love," he read to himself. Tsuzuki froze in shock as her motives made sense. _It's not just herself…_ He teleported back to Kimoto Manor. The shinigami knocked on the door. To his disappointment, Willow opened the door. Tsuzuki's face dropped.

"Where's Anna?" he asked. Willow gave him a small curious look.

"Oh, you're her boyfriend," she said.

"Yes! Where's Anna? I need to talk to her!" he pleaded. Willow blinked at him.

"Why?" she asked.

"I have to talk to her!" the shinigami said. "Now where is she?"

"She left," her friend answered.

"Left?" Tsuzuki asked. "Left where?"

"An old guy came by the house, and Anna left with him," Willow said. Tsuzuki automatically knew what that meant.

"Do you know where they went?" he shouted. Willow shook her head.

"No," she said. Tsuzuki raced off to find his ladylove. The American woman looked on lost.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked. The shinigami was too far ahead to hear her questions.


	29. Innervision

_Chapter Twenty-Nine: Innervision:_

-A Few Minutes Earlier-

Nobu pulled up at the end of the pathway and put the car in park. He straightened up his appearance and got out. He went over the plan once more in his head as he walked up to the door. Nobu kept his calm demeanor as he knocked. He took a step back as the door opened. Willow looked at him, blankly.

"Can I help you?" she asked. She's American, Nobu thought. Interesting.

"Excuse me miss," he said in English. "I'm looking for Anna Kimoto. I heard she lived here. Is she in?" Willow blinked at first.

"Why? Who are you?" she asked.

"Her uncle," he said. Willow didn't seem to believe him. She disappeared into the house. Willow made it to Anna's door.

"Anna," she said. Her friend looked up in a sour mood.

"What?" she asked. Willow fidgeted as she tried to find the right words.

"There's some man at the door claiming to be your Uncle," she said. "What should I do?" Anna's anger changed to alarm as she froze.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"Some guy said he was your uncle and wanted to talk to you," her friend repeated. "What should I do?" Anna rose to her feet and walked by her. Willow looked confused.

"Anna?" she asked. The other woman didn't listen. Anna came to the front door. Nobu looked up with a smile.

"Ah, my niece," he said. "So glad to see you." Anna glared at him.

"What do you want?" she hissed. Nobu pretended to look hurt.

"Aww, Anna," he said. "Why do you have to be like that? I just want to talk." His niece kept up her guard.

"About what?" she asked. Nobu glared around inside.

"Not here," he said.

"Why?" Anna asked with gritted teeth. Nobu kept his calm look.

"Your friend, she's American, am I right?' he asked.

"Well… yeah. Why?" his niece replied.

"Interesting," he said. "And how much does she know?"

"I told her everything," Anna said.

"Everything?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Anna lied.

"Really?" Nobu challenged. "So if I asked her about the kitsune…" He paused when he saw the panicked look in Anna's eyes. Nobu smirked in his mind.

"I see," he said. "And you don't want her to know, am I right?" Anna clenched her fists at her sides.

"Fuck off," she mumbled.

"Ooo, language," he said.

"Don't drag her into this!" Anna barked.

"Then it's in your best interest to come with me," Nobu suggested. Anna puffed up her cheeks.

"Fine," she grumbled.

"Good girl," her uncle said. He patted her on the head. Anna sneered at the set-up alone. Willow looked up at the last minute to see Anna heading out the door with Nobu.

-Now-

During the whole drive, Anna plotted her escape. She didn't have her cell phone on her. The best way would be to create a distraction and run. But how? She came back to earth when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Anna looked up to see Nobu smiling at her. She resisted smacking him in the face.

"What?" she grumbled.

"Get out of the car," her uncle said. His niece rolled her eyes, thinking, _like I have choice._ She unlocked the door and got out with Nobu following behind. They had driven out to the neighborhood park. Anna kept her guard up the whole time. Nobu found a bench near the playground and took a seat. Anna watched him as she stood. Her uncle couldn't help but notice her face.

"Aww, why don't you trust me?" he asked.

"Let's see," she said. "You killed Meixiang while she was inside of me. You, my other uncles, and cousins killed Papa ten years ago. You killed all of Meixiang's friends. Grandma had me killed once and wants me dead. Oh yeah, you killed both of my aunts. Anything else I missed?" Nobu only nodded.

"Fair enough," he said. "Stay standing if you want. I won't force you." Anna kept her eyes locked on him.

"What do you want?" she asked, unimpressed. Nobu brushed his fingers together.

"Aw yes," he said. "The kitsune."

"What about her?" Anna asked.

"I believe you have her locked inside of you," he said. Anna's face didn't change.

"Okay… so?" she asked. Nobu smirked as he ran his finger in circles on the bench.

"I just have to see to know," he said. His hand froze in the circle. Anna's body went stiff in a daze. Nobu smirked as he walked up to his niece. The old man pushed down on her lower eyelids.

"This won't take long," he murmured. Nobu looked deep into her empty eyes.

_Airless darkness all around. Anna opened her eyes and looked around._

This again? _The woman tried to move forward._ Come on! He did this to you before. Try and focus! _Easier thought than done._ _A bright light flashed over her face, nearly blinding her._ Ack! What the hell? _She squinted her eyes for a better look. A pair of ruby kitsune eyes stared at her. Anna felt her heart speeding up._

Oh shit! _She tried to stay still as the eyes looked deeper into Anna's own._

Nobu focused his energy in deeper. His discovery shocked even him. "Oh what's this?" he asked. "A core? How did she…?" The old man smiled to himself.

"Oh, I see," Nobu murmured to himself. He began to take a deeper look.

_Anna started at the kitsune eyes when she figured out what they were._ It makes sense now! He and his kitsune are one in the same in this realm. So there must be a way to drive them out. I just need to find the anchor point to drive out the body… _Anna kept looking deep into the eyes._ Where is it? The anchor has to be set somewhere in here. It's the only way he can stay stable in someone's mind. _Anna kept searching through the blinding fiery lights. Suddenly, her eyes caught the point in question._

Of course!

Nobu smiled, impressed. "I see," he said. "It all makes sense now." The old man looked at a dazed Anna. He smiled and shook his head.

"My part's done; now to finish up," he said. His eyes looked deep into Anna's blank ones. "Farwell, my niece," Nobu whispered. He put his hands around her neck and squeezed tightly.

_Anna felt herself choking in her prison._ He's trying to kill my body. I have to crush the anchor point or I'm dead! _With little time to think, she started chanting a Japanese incantation._

_"Rin, to, shin, kei, sha, retsu," she mumbled while gasping for air. "Rin, to, shin, kei, sha, retsu. Rin, to, shin, kei, sha, retsu." Her soul felt lighter._

Nobu paused when his hands burned at her neck.

"What's happening?" he shouted. A red light with black streaks of lighting shot up from Anna's body and hit Nobu right in his own mind. The old man found himself in a disturbing shock.

"Stay out of my head," Anna and the kitsune said together in his mind. Nobu's soul took a step back in his own mental prison his victim had trapped him in.

"Forgive me, Mother!" he cried out as he fell to his knees at her feet. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

When Tsuzuki made his way over to the neighborhood park after following his messenger fuda bird, he found Anna standing over an out-cold Nobu at her feet, panting.


	30. Our Pact

_Chapter Thirty: Our Pact:_

Tsuzuki raced over to Anna. "Anna-chan! Anna-chan, are you okay? What happened?" He grabbed her by the shoulders. To his surprise, Anna looked up and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Tsuzuki blinked.

"What happened?" he asked. Anna looked down at Nobu.

"He tried to kill me, but I fought back," she said.

"How?" her man asked.

"With my own power," Anna bragged. However, not without a price. By morning, Anna had a violent migraine and couldn't understand why. When it didn't let up, Tsuzuki insisted she see Watari this time. In too much pain to argue, Anna consented.

"Just make it stop," she complained. Watari did another scan on her. The full results came back in an hour.

"Well?" Tsuzuki asked. Watari had a somber look on his face.

"The shield is broken even further," he said. "The cracks got deeper." Watari turned to Anna. "You've been studying the kitsune's magic, haven't you?" the blonde scientist asked.

"Yes!" she whimpered. Watari shook his head.

"Oh, that's not good," he said.

"Why?" Anna asked. Watari showed her the screen.

"You see," he explained. "Your dad has shielded your kitsune so long, that your body doesn't recognize your own powers." Anna stared at him.

"And?" she asked.

"Your body is attacking your powers," Watari said.

"Like a virus?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Exactly," Watari replied.

"So these headaches are…" Anna began to say.

"It's your body and Daisuke's shield's way of fighting back," the scientist said, nodding.

"Seriously?" Anna asked.

"Yeah," Watari said. The woman sank back into her chair.

"So what I am supposed to do?" she asked.

"About which?" the scientist asked. "Your headaches or your powers?"

"Both," Anna whimpered. Watari leaned in close.

"For your headaches, they'll clear up in an hour," he said. "For your powers, don't use them. You have Tsuzuki and us to protect you." Anna's frown deepened.

At eleven a.m., Tsuzuki found Anna outside in the courtyard. She stared at the cherry blossoms in the trees. Her boyfriend felt some sympathy for her. He walked over next to the woman. Anna glanced over at him. Her man tried to stay positive.

"I can understand your efforts," he began. She didn't speak.

"I do admire your ambitions," the shinigami tried again. "I really do." Anna turned back to the view. She was bitter. He put his arm around her.

"I am not lying," Tsuzuki reasoned. "I really do appreciate what your drive is. Just let us help you, okay? I want to help in any way possible." Anna kept her eyes forward.

"You want to help me?" she asked. Tsuzuki nodded.

"Yes, yes," he said. Anna glanced at him.

"Then let me get stronger," she said. "It's the only way." She turned to him with pleading eyes. Tsuzuki stared back at her.

"But you could die," he said. She clutched his hands.

"Then don't let me," Anna insisted.

"I don't understand you," he said. His beloved pushed herself to say the rest.

"Stop me from losing myself," Anna said. "Pull me back out when I get too deep. Do that for me." Tsuzuki became serious as he clutched her hands.

"I will," he said. Anna smiled as she bowed her head.

"Thank you," she whispered. The shinigami gave her a little smile.

"Anything else malady?" he asked.

"Well, I'd like to see more of Meifu for a bit," Anna said. Tsuzuki gave her a puzzled look.

"Why? It looks just like Chijou," he said. Anna tried to repress a giggle.

"Except for the year-round cherry blossoms," she pointed out. "Plus, I wouldn't know that being as all I see is the inside of Ju-Oh-Cho." Tsuzuki nodded.

"Alright, where do you want to go first?" he replied.

"Anywhere," she said. Tsuzuki chuckled.

"How about we start with a walk?" he offered.

"Good enough," his fiancée said. From inside Ju-Oh-Cho, Tatsumi watched them leave. He frowned and shook his head.

_This can't be good_, he thought. Now, he understood how Hisoka felt.

Owari


End file.
